An Interesting Shinobi
by RedWolf210
Summary: Natsumi Niikyo and Sasuke Uchiha, who are in their 20s, had been married for several years. The Uchiha leaves Konoha unexpectedly, and eight years pass. Natsumi meets him again on a mission, and her life goes crazy from then on. Has hint of Hellsing.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I am putting up my stories in a bit of a backwards timeline thing. I may end up bouncing around and stuff. Anyway, the '[dialogue] ' means that the person is thought-speaking (talking telepathically). Please, review so I can work on things that I need to work on. Enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

_Why can't I see? _she thought. She turned her head to the left, and then the right. Wherever she looked it was black. Then she remembered what had happened.

She had been careless, letting her guard down. Now she's bound up, gagged, blindfolded, and sitting on the cold stone floor. She was leaning to the left, since her bound ankles only allowed her to sit with her legs sideways. The woman leaned back to see if a wall was behind her. She leaned about five inches before the back of her head met the wall. She listened for any sound, even for the quiet scuttling of a rat. Silence.

_How long was I out?_The girl was just thinking to herself when there was the sound of footsteps. After that was the click of a lock and the creak of an opening door. Natsumi froze and faced the sound. Footsteps were getting closer to her. They stopped about a foot before her, and when she looked up the light was blocked. The faint shadow kneeled to her level and she felt the stare a someone.

After a few minutes a voice said, "Natsumi? Is that you?"

_That voice…Could it be…?_ She struggled with her tied hands behind her back. _Come on…break stupid rope. Oh…wait a sec…_ The young woman directed her thoughts at the man.

'Yes I am Natsumi.' she thought-spoke.

"It is you! I'm so sorry you got into this."

'Sasuke? Is that you?'

"Yes!" he replied. "I didn't know this would happen."

'Could you undo the blindfold? Or the gag? Please, I need to see you.' She felt hands untying the knot for the gag. The cloth was removed from her mouth, and she coughed a bit. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now let's get that blindfold off." Sasuke fumbled with the knot behind her head. After a minute, the blindfold was removed. Natsumi kept her eyes shut for a second, and then she opened them to look around. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she saw a young man standing before her.

He still had the spiky hairstyle that she remembered when she last saw him – a memory she wished was a dream, but it was the painful truth. He had left her, their children (can be explained later), and his sister-in-law (Natsumi's twin, Mayume) – but it was slightly longer. He wore a black V-neck shirt that exposed his pectoral muscles, and a pair of black, baggy pants. His face had a small frown along with sad eyes staring at her.

"Sasuke…" Natsumi whispered. "Sasuke, why did you leave for so many years?" She looked at him in the eyes, searching for the lies he may say when he answered her.

"I…I don't really know."

"How can you not know the reason why you would leave me, my sister, your daughter and three sons for eight years?!" She tried to keep her voice steady, but it cracked anyway. "_Why_ did you leave?!"

Sasuke stared at her for a second more before he turned his gaze to the floor. "I wanted to get--"

"Stronger?" interrupted Natsumi. "You wanted to get _stronger_?! Is that _all_you want to do with your life?" The young woman was very upset, and Sasuke could tell by her tone of voice. He, too, got upset.

"I'm doing it so I can protect you and our family!" he argued.

"You don't need to get stronger. You are already strong enough. Not to mention that our family is made up of shinobi. May and I are Jounin, and Yin is a Chunin. Yang, Hunter and Nhamo are also Chunin. We can take care of ourselves." Natsumi really wanted to stand up and hug him, hold him close. "We miss you dearly Sasuke. Please come back. Everyone is having a hard time without you."

The boy kneeled back down and gave her a hug. "Of course I'll come back." He released his hug and looked at her face closely. "I love you Natsumi." He then kissed her very passionately on the lips.

"I love you too," Natsumi replied. She kissed him back just as passionately.

"I'll get you out of here." Sasuke pulled out a kunai and began to cut at the rope tying Natsumi's hands together. "Almost got it…" Then there was the sound of two sets of footsteps arriving at the door. Sasuke stopped what he was doing and hid the knife in his belt and pulled his shirt down to cover it. His expression became blank, emotionless. The door opened and two men came in.

The first man had long brown hair that reached down to his chin, so it was about 8 centimeters long. His dark eyes were intelligent and clever. The second man had black spiky hair as well as it was bushy. His eyes were dark too, but there was a visible hint of brown in them. Both looked at Natsumi, and then at Sasuke. The man with the brown hair addressed Sasuke, "You are needed for an assignment. Go to the boss for more info about it."

"And you two are going to…?" Sasuke said.

"We're going to interrogate the kunoichi," said the black haired man. Sasuke looked at the two men, and then at Natsumi. Then he nodded and walked to the door and left. As soon as the Uchiha left the room, the men turned their attention to Natsumi. "Alright, girl, we're going to ask you a few questions, and you will answer truthfully."

"And how are you so sure of that?" Natsumi questioned. A flash of a hand, and she got smacked on her left cheek.

"I said that we'll do the questioning, and you will answer."

"Wow, the sissiest routine ever. I guess your 'good-cop-bad-cop routine sucked more, or you two may be new interrogators…" As she rambled on, she was moving her hands behind her back to help break the rope. The rope was tearing slowly, but surely. A few more minutes of distracting, then she'll be free.

The man with the black hair glared at her. "Don't be back-sassing me, you little…"

"Let's just get to the questioning already," said the man with the brown hair.

"Right," said the other man. "Where is the Scroll of Forbidden Justu kept?"

Natsumi replied, "I have no idea."

"Don't you dare try to lie! Tell us where it is!"

"I'm damn serious!" She spoke the next words separately, as if he were a mentally challenged. "I don't know where it is. Got it?" Natsumi looked at the first man who came in, the brown-haired man.

"She's not lying," the man said.

"Ah, so you are a shinobi trained in lie-detecting," Natsumi concluded out loud.

"Hmmm…how does she not know?" the black haired man wondered. "Aren't all Konoha ninja supposed to know the whereabouts of the Scroll?"

"I was never told about where it's kept to prevent it from being stolen by people like you and your buddies." Natsumi was almost free. Just a few more seconds and she'll be able to bust out. The interrogator looked at his partner.

"Truth," he stated. The interrogator sighed in frustration.

"How do you know that she's not lying to us?! She could have trained herself to make everything she says the truth." He glared at Natsumi. "TELL US WHERE THE SCROLL IS!!" he demanded.

"I told you I DON'T KNOW, STUPID!!" Natsumi only had one more tug to go and then she'll be able to fight back. The men looked at one another. They got together and talked quietly to each other for a few minutes. They finished their discussion, and they turned to her again.

"Well, since you don't know anything, you are of no use to us," the interrogator said. There was a click, and the man had a knife. The partner was walking over to Natsumi, preparing to seize her and hold her down while the other would slit her throat, or strip her down to nothing by cutting up her clothes. Both were closing in, and as soon as the interrogator and his partner were close enough, Natsumi swung her legs hard and tripped both of them. She snapped the rope and freed her hands, then she snatched the interrogator's knife, cut the ankle bind, jumped up and over them, and then she ran for the door. The black haired man grabbed her ankle, and she fell to the floor with a yelp.

"Ha! Caught you!" exclaimed the man. He twisted Natsumi's ankle, and Natsumi gritted her teeth in pain. He let go and before she could stand, he grabbed her and stood her up. The man held her in place while the brown haired man came with the knife. Natsumi struggled and squirmed in the black haired man's arms.

"Let me go!" Natsumi demanded. She lunged forward and flipped the man over, making him land on the partner. He lost his grip and she ran as quickly as she could to the door. Suddenly, a kunai flew by her and cut deeply into her shoulder. Natsumi winced, stumbled, and fell down. She glanced behind her and saw that both of the men had a knife in their hand. The young woman crawled to the door, and another kunai cut deeply into her other shoulder. She rolled and fell on her back. The men caught up and loomed over her.

"You have no way to escape, girl," the brown haired man said. "I was going to make your death quick and painless, but after all that trouble I'll reconsider, that is, unless you tell us the location of the Scroll of Forbidden Justu."

Natsumi replied, "I old you I don't know where it is. And even if I did, I would never tell an enemy." The man grinned, and then kneeled beside her. He had the evil look in his eyes. The man placed the tip of his kunai over her heart.

"What if I were to slowly stab your heart, would you tell me?"

"No. What part of never did you not get?" The man put pressure on the knife, and it broke the skin. Natsumi winced. He continued slowly, and the kunai went further and further. Now Natsumi was screaming in pain.

"Scream all you like, said the interrogator. "Nobody is going to save you." He laughed evilly and pushed the knife in a little harder, but making sure that he didn't kill her just yet. The partner was watching the killing, looking somewhat bored. "Would you like to tell us the location of the Scroll?"

"N…n-never…" Natsumi said. She yelped as he pushed the kunai deeper. Her life was flashing before her eyes. All the times with her clan and the Uchiha clan came into her mind, as did other memories, slurring with one another. Her parents' faces were smiling and her twin, Mayume, was laughing at her as she was walking around the Niikyo estate with a piece bamboo strapped to her back for lady training. Then, came the time when Amaroq and his wolf pack accepted her into their family after the Niikyo/Uchiha massacre. The wind was blowing through her mane as she and Silver Fang hunted a doe. Next was the mission to escort Shykio to Konoha. This was when she met Sasuke for the first time after the massacre. She remembered him admitting that he liked her, but he wanted to be with Sakura. After that there was a time skip of two-and-a-half years, and the memory of herself, along with Naruto, Sakura, and Mayume, bringing Sasuke back from Orochimaru. The rest zipped by faster: Natsumi and Sasuke going out; the time that they had discovered that Yin, Yang, Nhamo and Hunter were their biological children, and not kittens. Then the wedding came next. She recalled that whole cake fight, and how messy she, Sasuke, Yin, and everyone else got. That left the most recent things: the three years as a married couple, and then the eight years alone with an incomplete family. The last thing was the most recent memory of Sasuke: him just standing there in black, and then him leaving the room.

"S…Sasuke…Yin…May…boys…" Natsumi whispered as their faces appeared for the last time. It became dark, and then she saw her parents coming to take her to heaven. "I'm sorry..." Then she exhaled her last breath and was dead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sasuke stopped running and stood in a circle of trees. He sensed that something was wrong. The wind blew past him, whispering in the trees. _Natsumi…_Sasuke thought immediately. The young man as fast as he possibly could to the warehouse where the organization's headquarters was. Sasuke ran into the building and down the hallway that lead to the room where Natsumi was held. As he was getting close to the room, the two men that told him that he had an assignment were just leaving the room. He stopped before them, and they all looked at each other.

"How was the assignment?" asked the black haired man after some silence.

"Success," Sasuke replied. He noticed the smeared blood on the brown-haired man's shirt, even if it was black. "How was the questioning with the captive?"

"That girl would not say anything except smart remarks in the beginning," complained the brown haired man. "We tried to stay cool, but she pushed it, and we found out that she knew nothing." The black haired man shook his head.

"I bet she knew, but she made it sound like the truth to your lie-detecting ears and to your eyes," the black haired man scoffed. Then he shrugged. "Either way, she was going to die." Sasuke clenched his fists. Now he knew what had happened. Without thinking, he pushed the men aside and opened the door. Then he saw Natsumi lying on the floor with a bloody spot over her heart.

"Natsumi!!" Sasuke shouted. He knelt beside her and checked her pulse. Nothing. He stared at her. "No…This wasn't supposed to happen." The two men came in.

"Why are you acting like…" the black haired man trailed off. Then he smirked. "You had a connection with her? That's just too bad. You should've told her to tell us what we wanted to know." The brown haired man chuckled.

"You're weak," stated the brown haired man. "You break down after the death of some woman. Shinobi must be tough, physically and emotionally. No bonds, that's what makes ninja strong."

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "You have no idea what true strength is. True strength comes from friends, people who care and want you to succeed. It comes from their support, their love…" He looked at Natsumi again. Then he glared at both men. He closed his eyes for a second, and he opened them again to reveal the Sharingan. The men couldn't look away, and they were caught in the genjustu.

They collapsed after a minute of screaming. While they were unconscious, Sasuke picked up Natsumi and vanished. He reappeared in the forest and looked around. He then began to walk toward Konoha. After about an hour, he stopped to take a break. Sasuke set down Natsumi and leaned back against a tree. The young man then began to cry, mourning the young woman's death. He looked up at the sky – it was late in the afternoon. He decided to keep going toward Konoha, and he picked up Natsumi and walked through the trees.

At sunset he reached the edge of the forest. He could see the Niikyo household, and he froze. There was low growl coming from behind him. When he turned around there was a large black wolf, its head reached as high as his waist. The canine bared its fangs and was glaring at Sasuke. When the wolf saw Natsumi, his growling ceased. His ears drooped and his head lowered. The wolf slowly took a step toward the boy. He whined softly. Sasuke laid Natsumi down on the grass for Amaroq. Amaroq sniffed her, and nudged her gently. He whined again.

"I'm sorry Amaroq. I should have been there to protect her," Sasuke said.

Amaroq continued to nudge and whine. Then he looked up, his ears alert. Sasuke turned around and saw Mayume walking over toward them. As soon as she was in front of Sasuke, she shouted, "Where have you been?! Natsumi and Yin were very depressed while you were gone, and the boys really missed you too!!" Sasuke looked down to Natsumi, and Mayume followed his gaze. She covered her mouth. "Oh my God…" She looked at Sasuke, a tear spilling. "What happened?"

"She had died in the line of duty. She was being interrogated, and she had tried to escape," Sasuke replied. "I'm sorry, Mayume."

"And where were you during this?" she hissed. Hot tears were rolling down her cheeks as she glared at him.

"I was away on an assignment."

"You were supposed to stay with her!" Mayume shouted. "You are some husband, Sasuke. You leave your wife and children for many years, and then you actually reunite with your wife, only to find her dead! What happened to the promise that you would always protect her, huh?! You never keep your promises!" The girl was sobbing now.

Sasuke was shaken by the rain of words. _Mayume is right_, Sasuke thought. _What kind of husband and father am I?_He looked at Natsumi's twin sister. "I know that I always screw things up, but I did promise Natsumi that I would come back here. So, here I am and so is Natsumi."

"What are we going to do?" Mayume asked quietly. "We can't tell Yin or the boys yet. It's Yin's sixteenth birthday tomorrow, and we shouldn't make her depressed on her sweet sixteen."

"Then what will we do with Natsumi?" Sasuke asked. "We can't just leave her out here!"

"Amaroq and the pack will surely protect Natsumi's…corpse." Mayume looked at the huge wolf. Amaroq barked in agreement. "Then I guess that is what we are going to do."

"Then I'll stay with them, just in case," Sasuke said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Amaroq, do you mind me hanging out with you and the pack?"

Amaroq barked and Mayume translated, "He doesn't mind."

"Okay then, it's settled. I'll stay with the wolves for tonight and you go back to the house."

"Alright Sasuke. Good night, I'll see you later." Mayume took one last look at Natsumi, and then she left toward the Niikyo household. Sasuke looked at Amaroq, who barked, turned, and walked away. When the wolf looked back Sasuke had Natsumi in his arms and was following him. Amaroq nodded, looked ahead, and resumed to walk toward his wolf pack.

* * *

The full moon shone brightly in the starry sky, illuminating the forest in patches of silver light. Sasuke was staring up at the sky while the wolves were in a group. Amaroq howled, and his tone was very sad, miserable. Silver Fang, his mate, joined in on a note a half step higher. The other wolves joined in the mourning song, their sound filling in the quiet night air. Sasuke was only half listening to their song – he was lost in memories of when he and Natsumi were together and the others. As he did so, he wondered how much he had missed in his absence. How old are the kids? Sasuke heard from Mayume that Yin was going to be sixteen, but how old are the boys?

"It's good that you came back home with Natsumi," said a voice. Sasuke jumped and looked to his left and saw Amaroq. The regal black wolf sat beside the man. "You have come back to your loved ones, and so has Natsumi."

"How…can you talk?" Sasuke asked. "You were barking earlier."

"Oh, so you can understand me now?"

"I thought that you knew how to talk like…humans."

"No, it is you who can understand an animal's tongue." Amaroq looked up at the moon like Sasuke.

"And how can I understand you now?" Sasuke looked at the wolf, waiting for an answer. Amaroq was thinking for a moment, and then he looked at the man and answered his question.

"I believe that Natsumi somehow gave you the gift to understand the animals, or at least us," Amaroq said. "It could be a spell or something."

Sasuke turned his gaze away from Amaroq and to Natsumi, who was just several meters away, lying beside Silver Fang and Blizzard. "Why would she give me the ability to understand animals? How did she give the gift anyway?" he wondered.

"She probably wanted you to be able to communicate with your 'in-laws'." Amaroq made a husky laugh. "Well, with the ability to speak and understand animals, you can have an advantage during future missions. She may have just given you this gift to use it as you see fit."

"That explains the why, but what about the how? Do you have any ideas about that?"

"Hmmm...something like this might have required physical contact. Was there any contact during that time you were with Natsumi at that hideout?"

"Yes. We kissed."

Amaroq gave a small chuckle. "Sealed with a kiss eh?" He notcied that Sasuke was not into the humor at the moment. "Er...sorry about that. Anyways, that's most likely how you got the gift."

"I see..." Sasuke said. He looked up at the stars again. "I miss her. After eight years I only got to see her alive for a few minutes."

"We all miss her Sasuke," Amaroq said. The wolf's tail slid to the left a few centimeters.

"I should've killed those men when I had the chance."

"Don't get all bent on revenge again. I don't think Natsumi would like that -- she most likely knew that she was going to die, or have a high probability of it. Plus she had died for the sake of the village, and I think that makes her feel like she accomplished something with her death. Her spirit would not be at rest if she sees that you are not settled."

Sasuke glanced at Amaroq, whose golden eyes were concerned yet still looked serious. "Yeah, you're right Amaroq," he sighed. Silver Fang, the alpha female and Amaroq's mate, walked over to Sasuke. The she-wolf looked at Amaroq, who nodded. He stood up and walked over to Natsumi's body and sat where Silver Fang was.

"Good evening, Sasuke," greeted Silver Fang.

"Good evening," Sasuke replied. The silver wolf sat beside the Uchiha. Sasuke looked at her. "Um...why did you come over here?"

"I need to tell you something," the she-wolf answered simply.

"Okay...and what's that?" Sasuke waited for the wolf to answer. She was staring up at the moon, silent. "Umm...Silver Fang...?"

Silver Fang spoke without removing her gaze from the full moon. "Last night, Natsumi had told me that she had a vision. She said that she saw her death, and also saw you returning back to the village. The next day Tsunade told her that she had a mission, and that was to go to the Kazekage to deliver a message that she had to memorize. As soon as she got there she would've sent a hawk back to Tsunade, telling her that the mission was complete along with the Kazekage's reply."

"So you're telling me that Natsumi knew that she was going to die during the mission?" Sasuke asked.

"That's what I'm saying."

"I guess that's why she wanted to see me so bad...." Sasuke was recalling Natsumi's expression when he found her tied up in the interrogation room. She looked frightened, but was trying to hide it. Her face showed worry then, and she looked like she was going to cry. _Why didn't I notice the signs and ask her what was wrong? _the Uchiha thought_. I could've prevented the whole thing. I could've changed Natsumi's fate..._

_

* * *

_

Poor Sasuke, beating himself up over the fact Natsumi's gone. I am gonna leave off here for now. I'll upload a new chapter soon. Please review to tell me how I did, thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

While Sasuke was thinking to himself, Silver Fang was watching silently. When she saw the Uchiha frown, she decided to interrupt his thoughts. "She loved you very much," she said. The young man stared at the wolf, who continued. "While you were gone, she couldn't stop thinking about you, wondering where you were and if you were okay. Yin, too kept worrying as well as the boys and Mayume. Man, Yin has grown so much over the years. Did you know that she inherited the Sharingan as well as the ability to shapeshift?"

"Really? That's great," Sasuke said. He was glad that at least one of his children had the Uchiha's keke-genkai.

"Then there's the fact that she inherited the good looks and traits from both you and Natsumi. Yin's a total guy magnet." Silver Fang laughed when she noticed Sasuke's surprised face that also looked like a protective father's gaze to keep boys at bay and away from his daughter. "She has your cool and Natsumi's friendly aura, so there are many boys who try to steal her heart, but none have succeeded. It's occasionally funny to see Yin run from fanboys, but she always manages to get away."

Sasuke thought for a moment, an important forming in his mind. "What will Yin and the boys do when they see me?"

"I don't know, but hopefully they'll hug you and welcome you back." Suddenly, Silver Fang crouched down and looked around, her blue-grey eyes serious and vicious. The other wolves seemed to have understood the alpha female's body language, for they formed a perimeter and crouched down. All were on full alert, snarling and growling low just like Silver Fang. Amaroq and Blizzard were crouched down and glancing around, observing everything around them while guarding Natsumi's body. Sasuke looked around, searching for what is causing them to be so alert. The Uchiha tried to sense any chakra level of any sort, but did not find any.

"What is it Silver Fang?" Sasuke whispered.

The she-wolf growled, "Someone is here...and he reeks of blood..." The next part happened so fast. There was a yelp, Blizzard flew into Amaroq, and then Natsumi's body diasappeared. All of this happened in only three seconds. Sasuke only had to blink in order to miss it all. He stared at he two fallen wolves while the rest of the pack looked around and sniffed the air, searching the area for what had done something so fast.

"Amaroq, Blizzard, are you alright?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, we're fine," Amaroq said. The alpha male stood up slowly. "Whoever took Natsumi must be after the body's secrets as to how Konoha's ninja are. "Silver Fang, Blizzard, Sasuke, you three go and track the enemy. The rest of us will make a perimeter and box him in." Blizzard stood up and walked over to Silver Fang.

The two she-wolves and man nodded. "Right!" they said. Amaroq howled the hunting cry, and the wolf pack joined in. Quickly everyone dispersed and set off to their duties.

"She's this way!" Blizzard shouted. She leaped over a log, and Silver Fang and Sasuke followed close behind. The three gained speed, and then Blizzard made a right, which was followed by a left. After a while Blizzard stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's the matter Blizzard?" Silver Fang asked her comrade as she and Sasuke slowed to a stop beside her.

"Do you smell the enemy or Natsumi?" Blizzard questioned. "I just lost their scent." Sasuke and the alpha female stared at the white wolf.

"What?!" Sasuke said. "You lost the scent? How?!"

Blizzard looked at both of her companions, her blue eyes shown the confusion as did her quiet voice. "Their scent...it just vanished altogether..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_What the...I'm back in the dark? _Natsumi thought. She had been catching up with her clan members in heaven when she was suddenly pulled down and into the darkness. _What is going on? _She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she gasped. _What is this pain?! _The pain lasted for about ten minutes, but to Natsumi it felt more like an eternity. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out. She could not feel anything except for that throbbing pain in her chest. Slowly, she regained some hearing. She heard barking somewhere in the distance. There was a loud hiss followed by the swishing sound of fast movements. _What on earth is going on? _Natsumi began to feel a thick liquid trickle down her side. Then she began to hear voices.

"Natsumi!" Silver Fang ran over to the young woman's body and stared down at its face. She tilted her head. "What's this?" The she-wolf sniffed the blood on Natsumi's chest. The wolf's ears perked up. "Fresh blood? If there's fresh blood, then that means..."

"That Natsumi is...alive?" Blizzard finished as she and Sasuke appeared.

"How can that be?" Sasuke asked. "She was stabbed in the heart." Silver Fang sniffed the wound again.

The wolf reported, "Her heart looks damaged...but it's..." the wolf's voice went up an octave. "The wound is healing itself! She's breathing!"

Natsumi wanted to speak, but the wound in her chest was throbbing too hard it took so much energy to just breathe. Every breath was painful, but the woman needed the air. She wanted to, att he very least, be able to open her eyes. Then she suddenly felt something touch her hand.

"Natsumi..." Sasuke said. "Can you hear me?"

_Yes, but I cannot do anything to prove it. _Natsumi thought. She tried to move. _Come on...move Natsumi... _The young woman barely squeezed the Uchiha's hand.

"Oh my God...Natsumi!" The man sounded like he was sobbing. "I thought that I lost you."

Finally, after a great effort (and pain), Natsumi opened her eyes. It was all blurry at first, but then her vision cleared. She saw Sasuke looking at her, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. She looked to her left and saw Silver Fang and Blizzard. Natsumi opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her foster-mother, sister wolf, and husband stared at her with concern. Natsumi looked at the Uchiha and faintly whispered, "Sasuke..."

"We gotta get her to the hospital," Blizzard said.

"I agree," Sasuke replied. He carefully picked up Natsumi and began to walk, carrying her bridal style. Silver Fang and Blizzard trotted after them. "Hang on Natsumi, we'll be at the hospital soon."

Natsumi whispered, "It might...take too long...to get there..."

"Natsumi, save your strength."

"I think you're better off...taking me to Tsunade-sama..."

"But that's even farther," Sasuke argued. Natsumi frowned slightly.

"Fine...then take me to Sakura. She's closer, so don't you argue with me about it." She looked up at Sasuke in his eyes and added, "You know very well how good of a medic she is." Sasuke stared back at her.

"Very well," Sasuke sighed in defeat. He then began to make his way toward Sakura's house. "Why can't I ever win an argument with you?"

"Hm, I don't know. I guess I'm better at debates." She laughed a little before wincing in pain. Sasuke glanced down at her.

"I told you to save your strength."

"Oh come on Sasuke, I'm fine."

"You know what? I'm not going to say anything so you don't talk and waste your energy." The man looked straight ahead and was quiet. Natsumi stared at the Uchiha before reacting to his silence.

"Nooo..." she whined. "You know very well that I hate silence!" He did not reply, and Natsumi pouted. She then decided to close her eyes and rest during the silence. Sasuke and Natsumi had finally arrived at a door after around fifteen minutes. Natsumi noticed the stop and opened one eye. Sasuke looked down and spoke.

"Okay, here's the deal," he said. "If Sakura isn't home or does not answer, then you are going to the hospital."

Natsumi nodded. "Deal, now knock on the door so she knows we're here." Sasuke listened to her and lightly kicked the door. They waited for a minute before the door was answered by a man with spiky blond hair. His blue eyes stared at Sasuke with surprise.

"Sasuke, you're back," the man said. Sasuke recognized the face as Naruto. Naruto looked down and saw Natsumi, and his eyes widened. "What happened?!"

The young woman answered, "I got captured by enemy ninja." She shifted a bit, but winced from the stabbing pain in her chest. "Sasuke saved me." That was a bit off, but it had to do in this explanation. "we need to...see Sakura. Is she home?"

"Yeah, she is. Come in." Naruto stepped back and to the side to let Sasuke carry Natsumi in. "set her down on the couch. I'll be back." Naruto ran up the stairs and was gone.

Sasuke set Natsumi down on the couch and kneeled beside her. "Why'd you say that Nat? I didn't save you." Natsumi smiled at him.

"It was the best thing to say," Natsumi replied. She coughed, and she winced as the wound bled a little. Sasuke looked at her with worry, and when Natsumi noticed that she smiled to reassure him that she was alright. "I love you Sasuke," she said.

"I love you too. Now, please, hang on." He held her hand. The woman rested her head on the arm of the couch.

"Sa...suke...I'm getting dizzy..."

"Alright, then you should rest Natsumi, just don't leave me." Natsumi looked at the Uchiha and nodded slowly. She closed her eyes, and her breathing began to slow down as she fell asleep. Sasuke smiled a little, and then he looked around the house.

_Where did Naruto go? _Sasuke wondered. _How much longer will it take until he gets Sakura down here? It better be soon. I don't want to lose Natsumi again. _The Uchiha looked at Natsumi's wound. It wasn't bleeding as much as it had before, which is a good sign. Still, Sasuke didn't want the wound to get infected. He stroked his wife's hand. _Just hang on Nat...don't leave me. If Sakura doesn't hurry I'll rush you to the hospital. _Sasuke dared not say this promise out loud, for he might wake up Natsumi. He leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead, and then he sat back and waited for Naruto and Sakura to come downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay peoples, I'm not getting much reviews so I may not continue this story. I know it's hard to find one specific story in this place, but still I'd like to have some feedback on my writing. I thank the TWO people that actually reviewed my story. PLZ! R&R. Here it goes...Chapter 3..._

_

* * *

_

Sasuke waited another five minutes when Sakura came running down the stairs. "Sorry I took so long!" she said. "I was having difficulty looking for the kit." Sasuke nodded and moved from his spot beside Natsumi so Sakura could sit there. Naruto came down from the stairs too when Sakura was starting to examine Natsumi's wound. Both Naruto and Sasuke kept quiet while the medic-nin did her work. After a minute more of silence, Sakura began to ask questions.

"What happened? Her wound looks clean, which is good, but this wound looks rather odd. It's pretty deep -- right to her heart, yet it looks as if something bit her," the pink-haired medic commented. She glanced over at Sasuke.

"I don't really know about the bite somment, but Natsumi did say that she was stabbed first and blacked out," Sasuke answered. One of her wolves may have seen what creature bit her."

"Where are the wolves?"

"Outside."

"Naruto, let the wolves in," Sakura ordered as she began to heal Natsumi's wound with her chakra. Naruto nodded, walked to the door and let Silver Fang and Blizzard inside the house.

"Uh, pardon my asking," Naruto said, "but how will we know what the wolves are saying? Natsumi's out, so who else can translate?"

"I can," Sasuke said. Sakura and Naruto stared at the Uchiha, but didn't comment. Sakura nodded, urging him to go ahead and translate. Sasuke looked at the two she-wolves and asked, "Which one of you saw the thing that attacked Natsumi?"

Silver Fang barked several times, and Sasuke translated. "Silver Fang says that the thing looked human, but it had deathly pale skin and fangs along with dark red eyes."

"The fangs explain the bite-mark," Sakura said. She stopped healing, even though there was still a big portion of the wound left. When the two men and the wolves stared at her, Sakura answered, "This is as far as my healing goes. Something is preventing me from healing the wound further. It may be because of a poison, but I can not see any evidence of it." She examined the wound on Natsumi's chest again. "We're going to have to take her to the hospital to be further examined."

Sasuke nodded. "Alright, then we better get going." Sakura nodded and looked over at Naruto.

"Get a spare shirt for Natsumi," she said. Naruto nodded and ran up the stairs again. He came back down with a black T-shirt and handed it to Sakura. Both boys turned away while Sakura dressed Natsumi. "Okay," the medic said. "We're ready to go." Sasuke walked over to Natsumi and picked her up, and they all left out the house and headed to the Konoha Hospital.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi heard the sound of footsteps softly walking up and down a hallway. She began to hear soft whispers that were talking to someone about a person's medical condition. The girl then realized that she was in the hospital. _Why the hell am I here? _Natsumi wondered. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the bright light on the ceiling. Her eyes adjusted to the light a bit, and then she heard a voice. "Natsumi?" Sasuke asked. The young woman looked to her left and saw the Uchiha.

"Hey..." she replied. "Why am I in the hospital? I thought Sakura--"

Sasuke cut her off. "Sakura did the best she could. Something was preventing her from completely healing it and so we had to take you to the hospital. Tsunade came in about two hours ago to heal u."

"Tsunade? I was that bad?"

The Uchiha nodded. "When the nurses tried to check your wound, you started to murmur about the pain in your wound. All of a sudden you started struggling, and a few nurses got hurt." The man stared at the floor, not loking at her. "You were mumbling, telling them to stay away or they'll die."

"I did?" Natsumi closed her eyes, trying to remember. She began to feel horrible. "What is wrong with me?" she asked to herself. Sasuke stared at the Niikyo, and she stared back. "Did I hurt anyone badly?"

"No, you calmed down after a while and they were able to get you to a room. Tsunade came a while after to see what was wrong."

"And...?"

"She didn't say," Sasuke answered. "All she said was that you mayhave been infected by something."

Natsumi's eyes grew wide and she sat up fast. "Infected?! How?!!" The woman winced after sitting up, and she looked at her side, which was bandaged. "Did she heal it? Both the wound and the infection?"

"She healed the wound, but I'm no sure if she did the same with the infection." Sasuke frowned. "I'm sorry Nat, I wasn't allowed in the room when she was healing. I only heard what she told the nurse." He looked at Natsumi, who nodded in understanding.

"That's fine Sasuke," she said. "I just can't believe I would threaten the nurses. Did I sound like I wasn't myself when that happened? I mean, did it sound like I was promising that they'll die if they touched me?"

Sasuke shook his head. "You sounded like your worried self. It was more like you were telling them that they were in danger if they came near you, but you couldn't explain why." The Uchiha's onyx eyes showed much worry when he looked into his wife's golden eyes. "You had me so worried when that happened."

"I'm sorry..." Natsumi said. "I'm clearly not myself. Something is changing about me...but I have no idea what." She then asked, "Is anyone coming to see me, or was I visited while I was asleep so I wouldn't 'kill' anyone?"

"Well, Mayume came. She brought you new clothes to wear once you get out of here." Sasuke gestured toward the bag sitting by the side of the bedside table. "Yin, Yang, Nhamo, and Hunter came too. They were worried."

"What did the kids do when they saw you?" Natsumi asked her husband.

The Uchiha was silent for a minute. He then replied, "They were stunned at first, but then they were happy to see me and hugged me." When the man looked from the window to Natsumi, he saw her smiling.

"That's good to know that they are not mad at you." Then Natsumi realized something. "Sasuke, did you tell Tsunade-sama about my mission?"

He nodded. "I told her that you did not complete it since you were attacked only about five miles from the village."

"Okay, thank you for telling her."

"No problem." The Uchiha stood up and leaned in to kiss Natsumi on the lips. "I love you."

"Love you too," Natsumi replied. "Are you staying here tonight? You can go home if you want."

Sasuke smiled. "I'm staying here Nat. I'm thinking that if I leave you you'll end up getting hurt again. You are so danger-prone these days," he laughed.

"Hey, that's the life of a ninja," she answered as she stuck out her toungue. That little action made Sasuke chuckle again, and he kissed her forehead.

"You're still the same old Nat," he said. "Now get some sleep, okay?"

Natsumi sighed. "Fine." She laid back down and closed her eyes. Sasuke smiled to himself again and sat down in his chair. He watched Natsumi for a few minutes, and then he stared out the window. After a while he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. As the couple slept, they did not notice a dark figure watching them from a nearby tree. With the wind picking up and moving the tree's branches, the figure leaped and vanished in mid-air.

* * *

oooh...who could it be?? you'll find out in the next chapter. Plz review! thanks


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, here's Chapter 4. I would like to thank_**Red-eyedgal** _for reviewing and urging me to continue this story. I apologize for all the hardcore sasusaku fans that came to my story expecting a sasusaku thing. It's not a sasusaku, but I'll make some on your request. Hope you all _can_ forgive me, Thanks. O.K CHAPTER 4!_

* * *

It was morning, and Natsumi was walking out of Konoha hopsital. The nurses were surprised that her wound had healed so fast. Sure, it was a bit small, but a wound as deep as seven centimeters into the chest cavity would take more than a day. They checked several times before letting the red-haired kunoichi out into the streets. Natsumi was walking around the corner of a building when she heard someone calling her name. When the young woman turned around she was face-to-face with a young woman with long, jet-black hair and ice blue eyes. Natsumi stared at the face for a moment, trying to figure out when and where she had met this face. Suddenly she gasped. "Sae?! Is that you?" Natsumi asked.

The lady beamed, her eyes sparkling. "You remember me!" Sae shouted with pure joy. The woman embraced the red-haired kunoichi. "I was walking by when I saw your bright red hair." Natsumi was released from Sae's hug and the Niikyo-Uchiha looked over her old friend.

"Long time no see Sae," she said.

"Definitely. It's been what? Six years?"

"I think so." Natsumi noticed that Sae was glancing around the crowd. "Um, who are you looking for?" she asked.

Sae didn't reply and stood on her tip-toes to look around. Then she smiled and waved. "Over here! I found her!" she exclaimed to someone behind Natsumi. Natsumi turned around and was facing another old friend. This young lady had golden brown hair that was just a centimeter from touching her shoulder. Her hazel-blue-and-green eyes were full of energy, and her smile was warm and friendly. "Hey Nat," the woman said.

Natsumi stared in surprise. "Sora!" she squealed. The red-haired kunoichi hugged her friend from the Hidden Star Village. Sora smiled at her friend, and her forehead protector with the Star insignia on it shimmered in the sunlight. Sae smiled at the two of them, and then she spoke.

"I was on my way here to give a message to the Fifth Hokage in the name of the Kazekage, and then I met Sora on the way here," Sae explained. "She was heading to Konoha as well, but she was on her way here to spend her days off hanging out with you."

"Cool," Natsumi said. She looked over at Sora. "How long is your break?"

Sora answered in a light tone, "Three days." She shook her head in disbelief. "I was surprised that my father let me out of the village. He has been prtective for the longest time."

"Well what do you expect Sora?" Sae questioned. "You are the Hoshikage's daughter, and you are also a kunoichi who can be targeted. I think that he let you go this time 'cause you were heading for Konoha, where you have the most protective friend ever." The Sand kunoichi laughed and glanced at Natsumi, who smiled and laughed along with her. The three women began to walk through the crowds in the streets and continued to talk.

"So, how's it been Natsumi?" the Star kunoichi asked.

"It's been alright..." the Leaf ninja replied. "I just left the hospital, and now I'm on my way home." The woman heard her friends' silence.

"What happened to you that got you into the hospital?" Sae asked. She and Sora sped up to be able to hear their red-haired friend's answer.

"I was caught by the enemy and was hurt pretty bad," Natsumi answered. "But I'm fine now, don't worry about it." There was a silence between them, and it remained that way until they reached the garden gates of Natsumi's house that was on the edge of the village. They walked into the fenced area and walked onto the front porch. Natsumi pulled out a key and unlocked the door. She, Sae, and Sora entered the Niikyo-Uchiha household, and Natsumi closed the door behind them. "I'm home!" Natsumi called.

There was the sound of muffled voices, and that was followed by thundering footsteps coming from upstairs. Three teenage boys came running down the stairs and leaped the last five steps. "MOM!" they shouted in unison. The first son to reach Natsumi was a tall boy with raven-black hair and green eyes. His skin tone was almost as pale as his father's, but it had a bit more color. He actually lifted his mother up and spun her around. Natsumi laughed, and the other two sons surrounded her, giving her hugs and their greetings. After they quieted down, they looked over in the doorway and saw Sae and Sora. The middle son -- a boy with reddish brown hair and blue eyes -- smiled at the two women.

"Hello Sae, Ms. Hoshikawa," the boy said.

"Sup dude," Sae replied. On her last visit she had told Natsumi's children to address her by first name, no formalities. It made her feel awkward, and old. Seeing that, after six years, they still remembered made her smile.

"Hello," Sora said. Sora, unlike Sae, was rather content with the formalities and titles. They did not bother her whatsoever -- she was used to them as the daughter of the Hoshikage. "Er...who was who again?" she asked. After six or so years she had totally forgot which child was which. Natsumi smiled at her and looked at Sae, who nodded to agree that she had also forgotten the boys' names.

Natsumi gestured to the son that was closest to her, the one who had spun her around in greeting. "This one is Yang." She walked over to the middle teen and placed a hand on his left shoulder. "This is Hunter. And this..." The Niikyo-Uchiha walked over and stood on the boy's left. "is Nhamo." Nhamo had reddish brown hair like his brother Hunter, and he also had blue eyes just like Hunter, which is expected with twins.

"Okay, I remember now," Sae said. She smiled at the boys. "Good to see you all again."

"Same here," Nhamo said. Hunter and Yang nodded in agreement. Sora nodded as well, and then she looked around the room.

"Hi Sae, Sora!" came a voice from the kitchen. When the two women got confused, Natsumi told them that the voice was Mayume, who was in the kitchen washing dishes.

"Where's your sister?" she asked the boys.

Yang thought for a moment. Then he answered, "I believe that she left a little while ago to go and practice her Sharingan."

"Dad went with her to help her out too," Hunter added.

"'Dad'?" echoed Sora and Sae. They stared at one another, and then they stared at Natsumi. Sae asked, "Sasuke's back?"

Natsumi nodded. "That's how I got to the hospital so fast," she said. "He found me and took me here straightaway."

"Where was he the last eight years?" Sora asked.

"Out in the wilderness, doing some personal missions."

Yang crossed his arms and huffed. "Ever since he came back, Dad's been training with Yin a whole lot." He then spoke in a quieter voice, "She's his favorite since she is the only one in the family that has the Sharingan." Hunter elbowed his brother gently, and Yang looked up to see his mother looking at him, her golden eyes soft in concern. The boy looked down again and mumbled, "Sorry."

"Your father is not playing favorites Yang," Natsumi said. "He is just assuring that Yin is up to her full potential with the Sharingan."

"How are you so sure about that?!" Yang snapped.

Natsumi was staring at her son with wide eyes. _He **never** yells at anyone.... This must be really troubling to him._She glanced at Hunter and Nhamo, who were whispering to Yang, scolding him for scaring their mother. She looked at Sae and Sora, who were staring back at her. Natsumi straightened up and looked at Yang. "We will discuss this later, Yang," she said.

"But--" Yang said in a low voice.

"_Later_," she interrupted in a firm tone. Yang and Natsumi stared at each other for a minute, and Yang then shifted his gaze to the floor.

"Fine..." he mumbled. "I'm outta here." The teenager walked past his mother and the two guests. He opened the front door and left, closing the door loudly behind him.

Natsumi heaved a sigh. "Sorry about that," she said. "Let's all sit down, shall we?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The training field was covered with kunais and shuriken. Two blurs were colliding in mid-air, the clanging sound of metal weapons rang loud and clear. After colliding six times, the blurs departed and stood at different sides of the training area. A girl in a silvery-grey Chinese shirt and slightly baggy navy blue pants stood at the far end of the field by the river, eyes closed. Her Leaf headband that was on her forehead proudly displayed her village symbol. She opened her eyes to reveal the red of the Sharingan. The girl's long raven-black hair moved along with the light breeze as she stared at her opponent about 600 meters in front of her. A man with the same eyes as her was staring right back at her, a small smirk was on his face. The girl straightened her posture and quickly began to make hand-signs.

The man copied her signs just as quickly.

She finished just a second before and did her Fireball Jutsu. Her fire struck the man, and he was engulfed in flames. The girl smirked, but that quickly turned into a frown when she only saw a burnt log in the man's place. Her Sharingan detected her opponent's chakra and jumped to her right just in time to dodge the man's blade. She pulled out a kunai and blocked his next swing. The man kicked the back of her knee, tripping the girl and making her fall on her back. When the girl looked up, the tip of the man's katana was right in front of her face.

"I win," the man said.

The girl panted, "Alright... Can you let me sit up now?" The man lowered his katana, and she sat up. Her Sharingan deactivated showing her onyx eyes staring at the ground.

The man's eyes also went from red to onyx. He kneeled down beside the girl and asked, "Are you okay, Yin?"

She waved her hand. "I'm fine Dad," she replied. "Just that I haven't used the Sharingan so intensely before." Her father stood up and offered a hand to Yin, who took it and was pulled up. They began to collect their knives and other weapons. "I'm glad that you came back Dad," Yin said as she put the last of the kunais in their bag.

Sasuke looked over at his daughter, and a small smile came across his face. "I am too," he said. The two began to walk back to the Niikyo-Uchiha household.

"Dad?" Yin asked.

"Hm?"

"You should train with the boys more, I need more practice with my elements anyway." The girl stared ahead, avoiding her father's curious gaze.

"Something tells me that there is more to your suggestion," Sasuke said. "What's wrong Yin?" This is the first time in what seems like forever since he had asked his daughter that question. He stared at her as she looked away from him. he remained silent, waiting for her answer.

After a while Yin sighed. "It feels like I am taking you away from my brothers," she said. "It is not fair and nice of me to do that to them."

_Of course... _Sasuke thought. _Yin is worried for her brothers' sake._That was exactly how she was before, when she was eight years old, and he was still with the family. Sasuke remembered one night when Yin had been ignoring and or avoiding her father's and mother's attention. He recalled that conversation he and Yin had then...

~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Sasuke stopped by his children's doorway and peeked inside. He saw a little girl with short blackish-blue hair in a white dress staring out the window and at the forest. The Uchiha lightly tapped the door-frame, letting his presence be known. "Can I come in?" he asked._

_"Fine," came a quiet reply. Sasuke walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He made his way to the window sill and sat beside his small daughter. She did not look at him at all and continued to stare at the trees and their shadows._

_"Yin, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked. "You have been ignoring and declining every offer your mother and I give you."_

_The girl was silent for a minute or two. Then she asked, "Why didn't you ask Yang? or Hunter or Nhamo about the offers you and Mom gave me?"_

_He was taken aback by the question. "The offers we gave you only applied to you." Sasuke stared at his daughter. He knew that her thoughts were more advanced and more complicated than the average eight year-old. So this must be one of those times. "Tell me what is bothering you Yin," the Uchiha said with a hint of authority. Yin did not reply for another few minutes. "Yin?" His daughter looked deep in thought, and he didn't want to disturb her, but he really wanted to know what was causing her to do this thinking._

_"I'm worried about the emotional stability of my brothers," she said. Yeah, the phrase "emotional stability" isn't the type of vocabulary for a toddler. Yin loved to sift through the dictionary and other educational books -- she has Natsumi's library to go through for many facts of the human body and phsycology. Not to mention that Yin Uchiha is the oldest child of the four children that Sasuke and Natsumi have._

_She continued, "As the oldest chlid of the family, I am responsible of caring and paying attention to my younger siblings' needs." Yin finally looked away from the window to stare at Sasuke with the onyx eyes that she inherited from him. "I am worried that Yang, Nhamo, and Hunter are not getting the attention necessary to grow up confident and mentally healthy."_

_"I understand," Sasuke said. "I promise to give them the right amount of attention, okay?" When she looked down, he put his hands on her shoulders and rested his forehead on the top of her head. "Okay?" he asked again._

_"Okay Daddy," Yin answered._

_"That's my girl," the Uchiha said. He hugged his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Now let's go and eat some dinner with Mommy and your brothers."_

_She looked up at him, and he saw the cute small smile that always made him smile. Both of them stood up and walked toward the door, where there were the sounds of plate clattering and glasses tinking._

~~~~~~End Falshback~~~~~~

"So," Sasuke said. "You want me to spend more time training with your brothers right? Give them more attention and help them out?"

Yin glanced over at him. She had been listening to silence for about three minutes before his answer. _I wonder what he was thinking... _Yin thought. She nodded anyway. "That's exactly what I'm saying." The two arrived at the Niikyo-Uchiha household and entered trough the front door. Sasuke and Yin noticed two women sitting on either side of Natsumi. Yin smiled at the women, and they smiled back.

"Hey Yin," said the woman on Natsumi's left, Sae.

"Welcome back Yin," said the one on Natsumi's right, Sora.

"Hey Sae, Sora," Yin said. She walked over into the living room and hugged them both and her mother. "Hey, Mom." Yin looked at Sasuke, and Sora and Sae's gaze followed hers.

Sasuke stared at the two women with a blank stare, but Natsumi and Yin could see the surprise hidden in them. "Hello ladies," Sasuke said in a smooth voice. Sae looked him over, insepecting the dirt on his face and dirty shirt. Sasuke stood still, yet he felt very uncomfortable under her stare, with her ice blue eyes hardening and examining every feature of him. After a minute the Sand kunoichi nodded.

"Welcome back to Konoha, Sasuke," Sae said in a casual tone.

"Yep, welcome back," Sora chimed.

"Thank you," the Uchiha answered. He walked over to Natsumi and kissed her lightly on her lips. "Hey."

Natsumi smiled. "How'd training go?" she asked. "You look like you had a rough time."

"A bit, but I only got dirt on me, not a scratch."

"And Yin?"

The girl answered, "I did not get touched." She smiled at her father and teased, "I am a great equal to Dad."

Sasuke laughed, "Just wait 'till next time. Today was a test to see what you could do."

"Ooh, I'm _soo_ scared." Yin grinned at him and laughed. "Okay, but remember your promise."

"Of course."

Natsumi smiled at her husband and daughter. Then her face grew solemn. "Sasuke," she said.

The man looked at her. "What is it?"

"Yang has been gone for over two hours, without a signal thought-speak or phone call." She looked up at the Uchiha, who was still standing. "Can you go look for him? He won't talk to me when I thought-speak. I can sense that he's nearby, but still no reply to me."

Sasuke nodded. "I'll go and find him," he said. He bent down and hugged his wife. "I'll bring him back before dinner. okay?"

"Alright." She watched Sasuke as he walked to the door and left. Then she stood up and walked to the kitchen where Mayume was already starting dinner. "May I help?" she asked her twin. Mayume turned around from the stove and nodded.

"You can peel the potatoes," she said. Natsumi got a potato peeler and grabbed one of the six potatoes and began peeling, letting the potato skin fal into the trash can. "You think that Yang will talk to Sasuke?" Mayume asked he sister.

"I'm pretty sure he will," Natsumi answered. "After all it is Sasuke that is the issue with Yang."

* * *

Yeah, I'm leaving it off there. I don't know how that little trouble came in, but it looked natural for the other sibling to be jealous of the attention the oldest gets from the parents. If you are wondering what happened to the shadow-figure earlier in chapter 3, then shill and wait till the next chapter. I'll update as fast as I can. Plz review! Thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5! yay! I hope that I am not boring all you readers. I'm doing my best to get some action in here A.S.A.P. Please sit back and enjoy the chappie._

_P.S: This story is now having a hint of Hellsing. For my friend Semira. :)_

* * *

Sasuke had been searching the forest for about twenty minutes before he spotted a boy with a black T-shirt and jeans sitting in a tree. The Uchiha jumped up and landed lightly beside the boy. "There you are, Yang," Sasuke said. The boy looked up at the man with his green eyes. He frowned and looked down to the ground again.

"Hey...Dad..." Yang replied. He scooted over to let his father sit down next to him. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a hurt tone.

"I've been looking for you," the man answered. "You had me and your mother very worried. What's wrong?" Yang tensed up, and Sasuke just waited for his son to answer his question.

The boy sighed. "Why do you pay more attention to Yin?" His tone was strained, as if he was holding back a sob.

Sasuke was quiet. This is what his daughter had been talking about. Yang, and possibly even Hunter and Nhamo, are mad and hurt that he had been spending so much time with their sister. The Uchiha answered, "I have only trained with your sister a lot to help her master the Sharingan."

"Does that mean that you have to ignore your sons' training just because we do not carry your dojustu?"

That question hit Sasuke hard. "No Yang; not at all. The last thing that I want to do is neglect you and your brothers."

"Well, too late Dad. You already did," Yang said in a bitter voice. Sasuke looked at Yang, and the boy's eyes were hard and flickered with...well _hate_ is such a strong word for this look. I suppose displeasure or dislike will do.

Sasuke cursed himself inwardly. _I am doing exactly what my father did to me... I got to fix this, but how am I going to get through to Yang? He looks like he's too far into jealousy already. _The father cleared his throat. "I am sorry that I have been neglecting you, Hunter, and Nhamo. I did not realize that I was doing so." The Uchiha placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Tomorrow, you and me, along with your brothers, will be doing some serious training."

"Did Yin tell you to do this?" Yang asked.

"She only pointed it out to me, and I was already planning it."

Yang moved away from Sasuke's hand and glared at him. "You _always_ listen to Yin. You always do what _she_ 'suggests' or whatever. You _never_ consider what I or my brothers tell you!" He turned his gaze away and added in a whisper. "You don't _care_about what happens to me, Nhamo, or Hunter."

"Nonsense!" Sasuke said. "I've been trying to avoid doing this! I didn't want you to suffer like I did!" Now this time the father looked away while his son stared at him. "My father did what I had been doing, neglecting his younger child.... He never really trained with me, nor did he really praise what I did. I felt hated by him, like he didn't want to acknowledge my existence.

"He always trained with my older brother. He always praised him. My brother had to mention me in order for my father to aknowledge me. If he _did_notice me, he only noticed my mistakes, my failures..." Sasuke had never spoken of his father, not ever...or at least not in so long. The Uchiha then noticed that he was being hugged. He looked to the side to see Yang hugging him securely.

"I'm sorry Dad..." Yang said. "I didn't know...that you went through that..." Sasuke hugged his son back and kept listening. "I see that you were trying now..."

"It's okay Yang," Sasuke said. "I wasn't trying hard enough. Now, let's get you home -- your mother is still as worried as hell."

The black-haired youth nodded. "I really got to apologize to her for yelling at her..." The two jumped out of the tree and headed home, side by side.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi had just put on her nightgown when a knock came at the door. "Come in," Natsumi said. The door opened and Sasuke came in. He closed the door behind him and looked over at her, and he gave a small smile. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," the Uchiha replied. Natsumi walked over to give him a hug, but he stopped her. "I need to shower first," he said.

The woman nodded and laughed a bit. "Of course you do. You've been training and running around all day." Sasuke smirked before picking up a towel that was hung on the desk's chair and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Natsumi sighed and sat at the desk and looked at the papers on the desk.

She had been planning Yin's sweet sixteen party today, but since she had been in the hospital, Yin had decided to cancel. All her guests understood her reasoning, but they were still disappointed. Natsumi then convinced her daughter that her party will be done on the weekend. The woman stared at the list of food that Yin had suggested to be there in the buffet. _I can cook the stir-fry, the fish, the rice...._The Niikyo-Uchiha went down the list. _The pasta sounds easy....and maybe I can even bake the cake._Satisfied with that list of things to cook in her mind, she moved that paper aside and looked at a report from an ANBU mission she had done a few days before her departure to Suna.

There had been strange murders in the Land of Fire. There had been a murder of a local non-shinobi village -- a woman and her child had been killed in this case. It had pained Natsumi to see the young woman's face, which was frozen in a terrified, pained expression. The child's eyes were closed, and his face was so pale from the lack of blood his body possessed. That was one of the odd things about the murder: the victims seemed to be sucked dry of blood. Another thing about the murders was that the area around the victims were spattered in blood, and nearby trees and even walls were damaged badly as if the killer had superhuman strength. Every victim, from the village near the border of the Land of Fire to the village only thirteen miles from Konoha, had a bite-mark that looked like a fanged creature bit into their flesh and drank their blood. These clues were very interesting, and Natsumi had a crazy idea of what the killer of around twenty people was.

A vampire.

And that idea always sent a chill up her spine. She had dealt with such beings once (about ten or so years ago), and she even befriended one. That one vampire was a unique one of her kind...

That vampire that Natsumi became friends with hunted other vampires. This vampire's name was Semira, and she was part of an organization that killed rogue vampires that harmed any human. If such a vampire was here in the Great Shinobi Nations, then Semira and the organization _Hellsing _will have heard about it by now. Natsumi could imagine her vampire friend already packing up: Semira would be packing a suitcase or small bag with a change of clothes. She would grab her belt which had a spot where her gun was held. As a Hellsing agent, she had other guns, extra magazines, and other weapons to use for the monstrous vampires she was trained to kill. Natsumi chuckled at the thought of her friend getting ready for battle -- Semira was always pumped up for a crazy fight with vampires.

Natsumi shook her head. Yes, it was possible for the murderer to be a vampire. It would be the best fitting answer for this case. Yet, Natsumi will have some trouble explaining the fact that a vampire was running around and killing people in thirst for blood. The woman sighed. _I'll deal with that later... I have to complete this report and send it to Tsunade-sama. Maybe I'll send it by hawk...or owl..._She began to write again. Natsumi jumped in her seat when she felt arms wrapping around her.

"Wow Nat," Sasuke said. "You were really concentrating hard on that report. I have been out here for nearly ten minutes and you did not notice."

"Oh?" Natsumi asked. She rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. "Sorry about that honey."

The man looked down at her report. "ANBU mission? What for?" His gaze returned to her, and Natsumi looked at the paper and then him.

"Murder case."

"Oh I see...." Sasuke looked at the paper again. "Looks like you're done with it. Why were you staring at it so much?"

He was right, the report was finished. Natsumi swore it was half-way done when she sat down and started to think. _Hm, I must have been writing without thinking._She looked it over -- it was perfect; all her thoughts, excluding the Semira/Hellsing thoughts, were on the paper....including her hypothesis.

"A vampire?" Sasuke's voice made her jump again. The man held her tighter and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Those scenes do look like a vampire attacked them...but I doubt it."

"How could you doubt it Sasuke?" Natsumi asked. "You have met one before. Remember? Semira...?"

Sasuke sighed and kissed her cheek. "Yes, but still, there wouldn't be any here. I mean, we're so far away from where Semira is. How can vampires suddenly appear here in the Land of Fire?"

"They still have human brains Sasuke. Don't treat people like they have turned into dumb animals just because they've been bitten and infected by a disease of some sort."

_"Infected" by a vampire_...

Natsumi shivered at the thought.

Sasuke stared at her from the side. She looked really distracted, stressed. He let go of her and rubbed her arms. "Natsumi, will you relax? This is the first night I have spent time with you alone in eight years, and I don't like to see you like this." When he saw her nod slowly, he chuckled. "You're still stressing. _Relax_."

The woman took a deep breath. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes were closed. "Okay, I'm relaxed," she said.

"Good. Now, stand up and get into bed."

Natsumi did as he said and stood up and walked from the desk to the bed and sat on the edge of it. "So, what are you planning Sasuke?" she asked. "I can tell that you're thinking about something." She watched the Uchiha sit in front of her.

"I'm just thinking of the perfect way to take your mind off that report and the stress and worry it's giving you," her husband replied in a normal tone. He smirked, and then he leaned in and kissed Natsumi on the lips. He pulled away and kissed again, but a little rougher this time. Sasuke moved closer while kissing her, and Natsumi couldn't help but wrap her arms around his shoulders and start kissing back. They leaned back (forward in Sasuke's case) until Natsumi was laying on the mattress. The Uchiha pulled away and began to kiss her neck, and Natsumi laughed softly and closed her eyes. She began to hear a fast pounding sound. Was it her heart that is beating that fast? No...not her. Natsumi then figured that the pulse was Sasuke's. How could she hear it so loudly? Her throat began to feel dry, and she felt really thirsty.

The thrist came in and out of her mind. Every time the maddening thirst came into the front of her mind, Natsumi shoved it into the back of her mind, trying to focus on Sasuke's "distraction". It wasn't working for this, but it worked for the other things. After another eight times of the thirst coming back, she decided to give up and push Sasuke away. The man stared at her, surprised.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No, it's just me," Natsumi assured him. "I just need a drink of water. Sorry sweetie." The two sat up, and Natsumi kissed her husband and stood up. Then she left the room and began to head downstairs to the kitchen. The woman opened a cupboard and took out a small glass. She walked over to the fridge and lifted to water pitcher and poured herself some water. She set the pitcher back into the refrigerator. Then she leaned against the counter and drank her glass. This did not satisfy her thirst. She needed something else, and she thought about what it could be.

She shook her head vigorously after she had retrieved a thought. _Blood._Why would she be craving blood? Natsumi began to walk up the stairs to her room. _What if...._ She paused in hesitation. _What if I was..._She did not finish the thought and opened the door into her room. She looked at Sasuke, who was laying on one side of the bed. It seemed like the mood was over, and Natsumi sighed in disappointment and slightly in relief. If she was what she thought she was, or been turned into, she should not engage into _that_ kind of thing yet. She may just hurt him. She sat on the other half of the bed and laid down.

There was a few minutes of silence. Finally, Sasuke asked, "Are you okay Nat?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting kinda...weird."

Natsumi sighed, "I don't know if I'm okay..." She rolled onto her side facing away from her husband. "Well, good night Sasuke."

"Night." The man side-glanced at Natsumi. Worry began to form a knot in the pit of his stomach. _She'll probably feel better in the morning. _He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, and then he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was 2:30 AM when Natsumi woke up. She stared at the ceiling. The blood cravings had returned, and she was annoyed by it now. After a minute of thought, the woman got out of bed and changed into a dark blue T-shirt and jeans. Still barefoot, the Niikyo-Uchiha walked across the room to the glass door that led to the balcony. Natsumi opened the door and walked onto it. She lingered by the door, staring off into the night. Her body tensed up, and she sprinted to the railing of the balcony. She leaped over the railing and fell toward the forest floor. When she landed, she was no longer human, but a reddish-grey wolf. Her transformation made her feel more comfortable with this burning thirst for blood. She bolted into the bushes and began hunting for small prey.

The wolf located a rabbit quickly, and leaped after it. Zig-zagging through the underbrush, Natsumi chased her small meal. After about three minutes of chase, the wolf had caught the rabbit and killed it. She ripped the skin open and began to lap up the warm blood. The canine chewed on some of the rabbit meat as well, but didn't pay much attention to it. After lapping up most of the blood, Natsumi trotted off in search of another rabbit to kill.

Once her blood cravings ceased, Natsumi had gone through about four rabbits. The wolf took the rabbit that she had sucked dry and went over to the other three rabbits. She sat on her haunches and howled, notifying her wolf pack that she had found prey and told them that they could have them. After hearing the replying howls, Natsumi trotted back toward her house. She transformed back into a wolf and jumped back onto the balcony. Quietly she sneaked into the room and into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She changed back into her nightgown and crawled back into bed. As soon as she warmed to the bed again she fell asleep.

* * *

I know, it may be kinda small of a chapter, but I wanted to give you readers this for your minds to munch on it. XD

Still, I hope you all like it. R&R please! Thanks


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey peoples. I am glad to see that there are several people that read my story. I'm also happy that some even favorited it and subscribed to the story alert. Anyway, I'm having so much fun with this story, and I'm updating pretty fast. I will update slower when reviews have completely stopped. I hope that you all enjoy this story._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_

_P.S: I'm putting some dance steps in here and song. So if you wanna try to dance along, be my guest XD The dance steps will be in ( ). Have fun and enjoy!_

* * *

The backyard was all set for the party. The tables were covered in cream colored table cloths; streamers hung in small arches between the house and the trees. One table already had a pile of gifts on it, and two tables had plates, cups, and silverware. The fourth table had the buffet, the food covered and heating, and there were several empty tables with chairs for the guests to eat at. Naruto had just finished putting up the last streamer; Natsumi finished hooking up the radio, and Hinata put the last present on the table when Sakura ran in from the house shouting, "She coming, she's coming!"

"Okay, places everybody!" Natsumi ordered. They had told Yin that the party was the next day, and (hopefully) the teen would be surprised to see the party already here. Everyone knew that it may not work, but everyone also thought "_who cares_?"

While Natsumi ran into the forest that was only nine meters away from her backyard, Naruto ran around the corner of the house, Hinata hid behind a tree, and Sakura and Ino ran to their hiding spot under the guest tables. All the other guests who came early and were helping Mayume with the food inside the house hid in the closets and the bathroom. The last three early guests ran outside and hid behind trees or around the corner with Naruto. Mayume went to the door and let Yin inside.

"Hey Yin, wanna take a look at the decorations we did?" Mayume asked. "We tried it out so we can get it right for tomorrow."

Yin smiled. "Sure May, I'll go look," she answered. She followed her aunt down the hallway and into the backyard. The girl looked around. "Wow. How come you have all of it--"

"SURPRISE!!" came a chorus of voices. Naruto and the guests ran from around their corner, and people peeked from behind the trees. Natsumi jumped out of the shadows, and Sakura and Ino popped out from under the table.

There was a gust of wind, and a spark appeared in the air. The spark grew into a flame the size of a basketball, and a tornado about half a meter formed a meter away from the flame. The two elements collided, and fireworks shot through the air. When the smoke cleared, two dragons about two meters long (one red and one white) were in front of Yin.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY YIN!" the dragons said harmoniously.

Yin smiled at the dragons. "Thanks Kiyara, Kikae." (Note: the red one is Kiyara and the white one is Kikae)

"Happy birthday Yin," came a voice from behind her. The girl turned around and saw Sasuke standing there in the hallway. The girl beamed at her father, and ran down the hall to give him a tackle-hug. Sasuke took a few steps back when she crashed into his body, and then he embraced her in a warm hug.

"Thank you, father, for making it," the young Uchiha whispered.

"Anything for my little girl..." He released his hug and looked at her. "You've grown so much." Her smile that just kept getting bigger was so charming that he couldn't help but smile back. "Ready to get this party started?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah." Natsumi nodded and turned on the radio, and the song _Don't Stop the Music _by Rhianna had just started. Everyone took a plate and started to serve themselves some food from the buffet.

* * *

Everyone was dancing to the song _Closer_by Ne-yo. A small group of teenagers were dancing the slapping leather to the song, and Yin was in the lead of the dance group. Natsumi smiled, happy that her daughter was enjoying herself. After watching for a few more seconds, Natsumi decided to jump in the line and dance with them. She counted the steps in her head as the song continued.

"Turn the music up in here. I still hear her loud and clear..." (_one two three four...)_

Several others (Naruto, Sakura, Sae, Sora and Mayume to be specific) jumped in line with Natsumi and danced along with everyone else.

_(slap-ping-leat-her)_ Everyone hit the side of their shoe and turned to their right and continued the dance.

The song soon ended, and the song that played next was_ Don't Stop the Music _by Rhianna. Everyone watched while Natsumi got to the front of the line and showed them how to dance the Tennessee Twister. Once the woman repeated the steps a third time, everyone seemed to get it. The song played the chorus, and they all started the Twister with a double left swivel. Laughs sounded as people bumped into someone else. People looked at one another, smiling at the fun they were all having. Mayume got her right confused with her left and bumped into her twin sister, Natsumi, and the two women laughed. Sae and Sora knocked skulls on a spin and were cracking up while resuming the dance.

Sasuke was sitting at a nearby table, watching the dance group tripping over themselves and others and laughing about it. He made a small smirk, and then looked around at the other tables. Hinata was lingering close to the dancing mob. Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba were at another table having a conversation while Ino and Ten-ten were also talking. A faint rustle in the bushes caught Sasuke's attention, and turned around to see nothing but a swaying fern. He stared into the forest shadows for a while, then he looked back at his family and friends who had stopped dancing as the song ended.

"That was so fun!" Naruto laughed as he, Sakura, Mayume, and Natsumi walked over to Sasuke. The four sat down around the Uchiha. "Why are you being such a loner Sasuke?" the blonde asked.

"I will dance when I see a dance that I know," Sasuke replied.

"But everyone didn't know the last dance," Mayume argued. "Practically everyone got a foot stepped on and a head collision."

Natsumi smiled and nodded. "That's what makes it rather fun," she said. "Once you get the steps, it'll be even more fun 'cause you can go all super fast." The woman took a sip of her water. "Seriously, Sasuke, you're gonna have to dance the next line dance with us." The Uchiha stared at his wife, and then he sighed.

"Fine."

Naruto grinned and clapped his hands together. "Awesome!"

"Naruto, you're such a hyper person," Sakura said. "You're acting like we're still genin."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Natsumi looked around the party and then turned her attention back to her friends. Suddenly the song _Forever_by Chris Brown began to play. She stood up quickly. "Yes! This one is an easy dance! Come on guys!" The woman grabbed her husband's hand and pulled him out of his seat and onto the dance floor. Naruto, Sakura, and Mayume trailed behind. The five stood at in a line, being watched by everyone else.

_Great...I'm starting to have second thoughts..._ Sasuke frowned. He then felt Natsumi squeeze his hand. The man looked to his right at the red-haired kunoichi. The woman began to bob her head, showing him the beat.

"Ok, I'll explain quickly and show u," she said. "You take three steps to your right while grape-vining; brush-step. Go left three with grape-vine; brush-step." Natsumi did the first eight counts for Sasuke. She began to speak quicker. "Then you bruch-step forward four and back three and hitch--" She pulled her left knee up to her chest while leaning into it and put her leg back down. "on beat eight. After that take a step forward; toe-touch. Step back; toe-touch. Take four steps forward, and sweep and turn ninety-degrees to the right for beat eight and repeat the grape-vine and so on."

Sasuke nodded his head in understanding. The others watched and listened from behind and got ready to dance. As soon as the song started, they started the Cowboy Boogie.

"It's you, and me, moving at the speed of light to eternity..." _(grape-vine 2 3 brush; left, 6 7 8. brush 2, 3 4; back 6, 7, hitch)_

"Tonight, is the night, to join me in the rhythm of ecstasy..."_ (step touch, step touch. forward 2 3 kick. Grape-vine 2 3 brush; left, 6 7 8. brush 2, 3 4; back 6, 7, hitch)_

Sasuke carefully followed Natsumi's steps the first thirty-two counts (that's doing the sixteen count dance twice just so you know), but when it came to be him going to the right and leading others behind him, he grew a bit nervous. He accidentally stepped on Natsumi's foot several times, but she only laughed and said it was fine and counted the steps to help him catch up. After a minute of doing the dance Sasuke got the hang of it, and he added some more swing and feeling into his steps.

Natsumi glanced over at her husband, and when she saw him having fun she smiled. _It's great to know that he's enjoying himself._ The song continued on, and everyone was having fun. Once the song ended, _Sway_by Michael Buble came up. Everyone dispersed to either get a drink, sit, or find a partner to dance with. Natsumi felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Sasuke.

"Would you care for a dance?" he asked.

She took the hand he offered. "I'd be delighted." The man smirked, and then he placed his hand on her waist and the two began to sway. He moved along with the tempo, and Natsumi smiled. "Who knew that you could do salsa or tango-related dances?"

Once again Sasuke smirked and replied, "I told you: I only dance when it's a dance that I know." He then leaned close to her and whispered, "I had to do this for information gathering."

"Ah, so you loosened a woman's lips with a dirty dance?" Natsumi asked while eyeing her husband with a stare that demanded the truth.

"Well, basically."

"Was that _all_you were told to do to retrieve the information?" Sasuke frowned at Natsumi, and she looked away and around the party area.

"I didn't sleep with any woman if that's what you're implying." The Uchiha held the young woman closer to him as they danced. "You know that I would never do that."

Natsumi looked from the alley of the house to Sasuke. "I suppose you're right," she said a bit harshly. The song began to build up tempo and crescendo. Sasuke spun her around and lowered her to the ground and suspending her just as the song paused. When he looked down at her, Natsumi had to smile at him. The man pulled her up and they began to side-step again into the rhythm.

Sasuke pulled Natsumi close again to whisper, "Are you still fuming over that last question and answer?"

"We'll discuss that later," the woman replied. The song ended, and the two stopped dancing. Natsumi smiled, clapped her hands together and said, "Alright everyone! Now that we burned off some calories it's time to get some back with some cake!"

Yang came running in right on cue and was holding the large birthday cake to the main table. The cake had white frosting and the words "Happy Sweet 16 Yin" written on it. Everyone sang the birthday song, and the birthday girl blew out the candles. There was applause, and then the cake was cut up and being distributed.

* * *

The backyard was cleaned up, and all the guests were gone. Sora and Sae were in their rooms while Mayume remained in the living room with her laptop. Natsumi and Sasuke were in their shared room upstairs getting ready for bed.

"Man, Yin has grown up so much," Sasuke said.

"That's what happens when you leave and eight-year-old for eight years," Natsumi responded. She got into a long, red silk nightgown and undid her bra. She put it away in a drawer and got under the bedsheets.

Sasuke took off his shirt and got into bed beside her. "Hey, I'm sorry I left."

"I know that you're sorry."

"Really? 'Cause you still sound upset."

"Well I'm not."

The Uchiha looked at her. "Are you sure that you're not upset?" he asked. Natsumi met his gaze, and her mad and annoyed expression disappeared. Now she had a sad frown, and she stared down at the covers.

"Okay...I guess I'm a bit upset..." she admitted.

"And that is because...?"

"It's because...it really hurt me when you left. I actually thought you left just get away from me and the children..." She then felt Sasuke wrap his arms around her.

"I didn't want to leave you, Yin, or anyone here," he said. "I wanted to be able to protect both of you, my family."

"But you're already strong enough to protect us," Natsumi argued. "Not to mention that Yin and I are kunoichi. I am a Jonin and she's a Chunin. The boys are also Chunins and Jonin."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at her. "Have you been kicked off the ANBU?"

"I'm rarely called. Kinda busy with the current case. Anyways, you shouldn't have left us."

"I know, I know, but it felt like I had to." The young man then looked at her with serious onyx eyes. "Will you forgive me?" he asked.

Natsumi sighed and laid down on the bed. When she did so Sasuke let go of her. Then he laid down beside her, and rest scooted closer to him and rested her head and an arm on his chest. "I can't stay mad at you. Of course I forgive you...just don't keep doing that."

"Okay." Sasuke wrapped his arms around her again, and he kissed the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered in Natsumi's ear.

"Love you too," Natsumi replied. She closed her eyes, and after several minutes Sasuke could hear and feel her slow, steady breathing indicating that she fell asleep. Eventually, he also fell asleep with his head resting on his wife's. Outside, the wind weaved through the trees, moving its thin, leafy branches aside revealing a crouched human figure in its large branches. The figure was staring at the couple as they dozed, and then the shadow smirked and disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Who is that figure?! Well, who knows? (lol, i do! :] )

Srry i took so long to update. This one is rather long, or not, and i was kinda buried in homework. Not to mention the login portion of the site being "glitchy". _ I'll do my best to update a bit faster.

PLZ review! thanks!

~Nat


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7!_

_I would like to thank all the people who have stuck to this story. You guys are awesome!_

_I've been trying to reveal the shadow's identity, but I always end up not getting to it. Hopefully I can get to it this chapter. Thank you for being patient and calm about it. Here is your reward:_

* * *

Natsumi woke up from the burning sensation in the back of her throat. Ugh. Time to drink some _blood_. She hated the fact that she had basically become a vampire. Just the thought that her diet now required to drink a lot of blood in order to keep herself from killing people...

She shuddered at the pictures of those victims of the rogue vampire as they appeared in her head. Sasuke hugged her a bit tighter, pulling her closer. She looked up and saw that her husband was still asleep. _Probably just a small reflex of some sort for him._Natsumi thought. Just then, two questions popped into her head:

When is she going to tell her family of her transformation? And: What will Semira do if she found out?

Natsumi's thoughts were interrupted by a flaming in her esophagus. "Damn..." the woman muttered. She looked up at the clock -- 4:30AM. She decided to go and treat the blood thirsty fire in her throat before everyone wakes up. She tried to slip through Sasuke's arms without waking him, but she failed. Natsumi stared up at him as he opened his eyes and stared down at her.

"What is it Nat?" the man asked.

"I just wanted to go out for some fresh air. You know, go and run with the pack for a bit," Natsumi said. She smiled innocently. "I didn't mean to wake you dear, but you had me in a hug."

"Hnn...okay Nat." Sasuke released her from his hug, and she rolled out of bed and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Sorry that I woke you up." The woman walked over to the drawer and put her bra back on as well as getting into a pair of black shorts and a midnight blue T-shirt. "Go back to sleep," she whispered to her husband.

"You better not be out too long," Sasuke said. "Your wound may look healed on the outside, but there could still a chance that there is something that may re-open." He watched his wife stop walking toward the glass doors that led to the balcony. She turned around and stared at him, and he stared back, showing her that he was serious.

Natsumi sighed, "I'm not going to open any wounds. Don't worry so much Sasuke. I'm tough -- been raised by _wolves_ remember?"

"Yes, but you were brought up as a lady of the house before you met them."

"Just go back to sleep. I'll be back before you wake up again." Without another word the Niikyo-Uchiha left the room and was on the balcony. Natsumi, ignoring the fact she was barefoot, ran to the end of the balcony and leaped over the railing, falling gracefully onto the leaf-littered forest floor. As soon as she landed on two legs she became a wolf and sprinted into the bushes. She quickly located a rabbit and gave chase, jumping over large rocks and making sharp turns in order to keep her eyes on the prize. The wolf could smell her prey's fear, and then she also heard its pulse...its fast, blood-pumping pulse. With that teasing her, Natsumi gathered some unknown strength and leaped the gap of six meters between her and the rabbit and pounced right on top of it.

Once draining the creature of its blood, the she-wolf picked up the blood-stained whitish-grey rabbit along with her to a spot nearby her wolf pack. The wolf listened to her surroundings, trying to catch her prey moving away. A breeze blew by, and she picked up the scent -- blood. The canine took a step forward toward it, but then it realized that it wasn't just any type of animal's blood...

It was human blood.

Natsumi took control of her wolf self and began to run toward the scent. Being a ninja sworn to protect her village had her running at top speed toward the ever-growing smell of human blood. The back of her throat burned viciously, and she thrust that thought aside. This injured human may be a fellow shinobi, or a villager, and she didn't want to kill anyone like that. The scent was at its strongest when she was only a few meters away. The she-wolf crouched down and peeked trough the gap in the bushes.

There was a woman, who was sitting on the floor with a bloody leg, and she looked at her leg, horrified. She then glanced up at the man before her, and Natsumi couldn't tell who he was since his back was turned to her. The man took a step closer to the injured woman, and she cried, "Stay away from me!"

A loud snarl erupted from Natsumi's throat as she leaped out of the bushes and landed onto the cloaked man's back. The man fell forward due to the wolf's momentum. With lightning quick speed, the man swung his arm at the large wolf. Natsumi was faster and caught the man's wrist in her jaws, and she bit into it. She only did not taste any blood...how strange... The she-wolf looked at the man's face, and his eyes were a deep crimson red, and he had fangs exposed.

_A vampire?! _Natsumi thought. _Shit!_ She released the man's arm and ducked his second punch. Leaping backwards, she landed only three meters away from the vampire. She barked at him, challenging him to "bring it on". The vampire smirked at her.

"I suppose I can have an appetizer before my meal," he said.

Natsumi growled at him. In a flash he was in front of her, and kicked her to the side of the clearing. The she-wolf struck her back against a tree, and it snapped. She could feel her spine had been hurt badly, and she couldn't move. The wolf growled as the vampire came closer. The pain in her back ceased, and the wolf jumped away from the spot where the man had stomped his foot into the ground, causing a crater to form. When the man looked over at the wolf, there was a woman with long, blood red hair in a blue shirt and black shorts, her crimson eyes glaring at him.

"Oh? Another vampire?" The man's face smiled. "We can she the meal if you like." He waved over to the woman with a broken leg, and she glanced at the other vampire with pleading eyes.

"I'd rather not," the red-haired woman said stiffly.

"You want it all to yourself?"

Natsumi pulled out a hidden kunai. "This 'meal' is a villager of the Hidden Leaf, and as a ninja of this village, I must protect them and kill anyone who harms them." She made a small grin, showing her fangs a bit. "I'll enjoy beating you to a pulp."

"Ahaha! A challenge, eh?" the vampire asked. He got into a crouched stance. "Then let the games begin!" He charged at her, and Natsumi did a cartwheel to dodge it. Pushing off with her hands, she launched herself into the air just before the man crushed the earth where she was at. Natsumi made hand-signs and created three shadow clones. The four split up, and the vampire waited to strike. Once he saw the clones lined up, he slammed his fists into the ground, causing the earth to crack and throwing the clones off their feet. All three clones poofed away, and the place was empty.

"Ha! She probably ran away in fear of my strength." The vampire then turned his attention to where the villager was sitting. His eyes widened when he saw that she was gone, and he roared in rage. "That little red-haired bitch!" Quickly, he sniffed the air, searching for the scent of blood, but he found nothing. "Grrrraaagh!!" He slammed his fist into a tree, tearing it down before he disappeared into the night.

* * *

Natsumi left the hospital where she took the villager. She then began to run toward the house. _Hopefully that vampire didn't track down my scent back to the house.... Please be alright everyone..._The woman reached the Niikyo-Uchiha household, and everything looked fine. She leaped onto the balcony at the back of the house and entered her room. Natsumi glanced over at the bed, and Sasuke wasn't there. "Damn it," she muttered. She looked around the room and didn't see him.

Something touched her shoulder. She jumped, and when she turned to her right she saw Sasuke. "Don't scare me like that!" she whispered loudly.

"It's nearly seven o' clock in the morning," he said. "I figured that you were downstairs, but I guess I was wrong."

"Well, I was hunting when I smelled human blood..."

Sasuke stared at her while she put her hand to her throat when she mentioned "blood". She seemed to want to remain silent, so he asked, "What happened?"

"Oh...I found a woman with a broken, bloody leg. She was being cornered by a vampire and so I jumped in and--"

"A vampire?! Are you serious Natsumi?" The woman stared at her husband in disbelief. She shook her head from a thought and argued.

"Sasuke! You know darn well that vampires exist! He may have been the killer the ANBU have been looking for!"

"Natsumi! It could've been any other man who likes to prey on women."

This was becoming too much for Natsumi. "I saw _fangs_, Sasuke! He even had the super strength and speed!"

"Chakra and Transformation Jutsu," he stated.

"He had red eyes, the fangs, the aura...He even called me a vampire...which...I am."

Sasuke suddenly grabbed Natsumi's shoulders and slightly shook her. "Natsumi, listen to yourself! You're saying that you are one of them! What is going on?!"

"I didn't die and healed faster than normal _because_I am a VAMPIRE! I was transformed when whatever...whoever...maybe the vampire that I saw did this to me." Sasuke looked like he wasn't believing any of it. She then yelled into his face, "WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?!"

"BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE TRUE!" he said. He watched the woman in front of him look at the floor, and he heard her mumble something. She probably figured that he didn't hear since she repeated it louder.

"I'm sorry, but I have to prove it to you..."

Natsumi looked up at Sasuke, and his eyes widened at the sight of her red eyes. She whacked his arms off of her shoulders and gripped them, and the man winced at the force she was using. _I don't remember Natsumi being this strong.... _The woman then shoved him back, and he flew two meters and landed on the bed, and before he could sit up she was on top of him, pinning him to the bed (that's in about three seconds). Sasuke stared into the woman's red eyes. _This is not Natsumi...is it? _The Uchiha then realized that she was crying, and before he knew it she was gone and the bathroom door slammed shut and was locked in two seconds. Sasuke sat up and stared at the closed door, and he heard sobbing coming from behind it.

Natsumi was leaning against the wall, and then she sank to the floor and began to cry. She had completely went overboard on the demonstration of her vampirc powers. When she saw the fear in her husband's eyes, she knew instantly that she went too far. It was a good thing that she had better control of her strength -- that shove was a really light one. She also thanked God that she didn't stay on him too long, or that he had any cuts, otherwise she might have... Natsumi hugged her knees and sobbed even more.

A knock came at the door. "Natsumi?" came a muffled voice. "Come on out."

Sasuke heard a choked reply. "No."

"Come on Nat. I'm fine."

She answered a bit louder this time. "I'm not fine! I'm in a very unstable mood. One wrong move can make me hurt you..."

"Natsumi..." Sasuke's voice was soft. "Please, come out here. I know that you are strong enough to control yourself." Natsumi looked at the bathroom door, thinking about what the man on the other side's face looked like. Worried? Sad? She decided to go see for herself.

The door clicked, notifying Sasuke that it was unlocked. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door. When he opened it all the way, Natsumi came up and hugged him. The man waited for a minute before wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried. "I'm sorry, Sasuke...for overdoing it..." she sobbed.

"It's okay..." Sasuke whispered. "It probably would've taken that much to get the fact of what you became to get through my head."

"Um...can you let me go Sasuke? Being this close to your neck...well..."

"Oh, sorry." He released his hug and took a step back. "Do you still need to hunt?"

Natsumi nodded. "Yeah. Tell May that I went to hunt. She probably heard my story and your reactions already." Just then the spoken person's voice came into their heads:

'WHY didn't you tell me Nat?!' Mayume thought-spoke.

'I wasn't sure until last night,' Natsumi answered.

'LAST NIGHT NATSUMI.'

The woman sighed. "I'll be back," Natsumi told Sasuke. She kissed his cheek and ran out on to the balcony and jumped off on to the forest floor. 'Okay, I'm sorry May. I didn't wanna freak you out.'

'Too late. Oh yeah, the kids know too.'

'How?'

'I kinda shouted in surprise when I read your guys' mind.' Mayume's tone sounded rather embarrassed.

'Well, I'll face all of you later. I need to hunt.'

'Alright sis, happy hunting.' Mayume disconnected and got back to what was going on now. Sasuke had just arrived into the living room, and his children began to ask him questions.

"What happened up there?" Yin asked.

"Is Mother really a vampire now?" Nhamo asked.

"Did you get bit?!" Yang asked.

Hunter was the only one who did not ask anything from Sasuke. He simply watched his siblings interrogate their father and inspect him of any injuries. "We heard a giant thud coming from your room," Yin said. "Are you hurt?" She looked the Uchiha over, and then did so a second time. About to go on her third check, Sasuke stopped her saying that he was fine. Mayume stood by Hunter watching the family also.

"Where'd Mom go, May?" Hunter asked his aunt.

The woman side-glanced at him. "She went out to get some food to satisfy herself." Then she addressed the other three teenagers. "Yes, children, Natsumi has become a vampire, but only part. She still has blood flowing in her veins, and so on. I don't know how, but she is normal excluding the extra strength and blood cravings."

The three nodded, understanding their aunt.

"Okay, now that that is out of the way, let's eat some breakfast. Breakfast today shall be the party leftovers, unless you want to cook for yourself." Everyone agreed to the leftover idea and walked into the kitchen to eat.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was near the end of the day, and Natsumi was practicing her strength. She specifically chose her training location to be far away -- about five miles -- from the village so she can practice worry-free. She ran to a large boulder and threw a punch at it.

BOOM

The boulder had crumbled into a series of large rocks. Natsumi kicked one that was as large as a work desk up into the air and juggled it like a soccer ball. The woman laughed at this fun game, and then she kicked the small boulder away, sending it 500 meters across the clearing she made and got lodged into the hillside. She picked up another small boulder and kicked that one; it went a meter deeper than the other one.

_Now to limit my strength..._Natsumi picked up another chunk of the once large boulder and kicked it. It flew only 300 meters. _Now how does that compare to Sakura's hits?_ She tried again.

The boulder landed 200 meters. A smile played on her lips. That seemed like a decent super-strength distance. _Time for the hard part, sort of... Acting like I am a human and trying to lift the boulder._Natsumi walked over to the largest chunk of boulder and examined it. This would do. She squatted down and "tried" to lift it.

Nothing. Perfect. She tried again and lifted it about half a meter. This would be chakra-infused strength. Excellent.

Natsumi put the boulder down and looked up at the sky. It looked about six or seven at night. Almost time to go, but the half-vampire wanted to practice her speed. She crouched down, looking ahead of her. As if an invisible person waved a flag or shot their silent pistol that only she could hear, Natsumi sprinted -- sprinted to her, but a blur to a regular person -- into the forest.

* * *

Well, that's all for this chapter. I hoped you liked it; I had so much fun writing this chappie. Review please!

~Nat ^^


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

_Enjoy!_

Dis one has time skips, by the way.

* * *

~One Month Later~

The icy wind rushed past Natsumi as she ran through the forest with her great speed. She looked around the area, searching for that one vampire who had attacked a villager from Konoha just a month ago. So far, Natsumi had not located or spotted the man within the month. She wanted to believe that the vampire ran off onto another blood quest, but something in the man's eyes as well as his reaction that she overheard when she gave him the slip made her think that he was hiding...waiting for an opportunity to exert revenge.

Winter had began to settle in, and the dark clouds above looked it would release snow soon. The air had become more cold, with the mornings being nose-nipping cold and the afternoons chilly. The sun has started to make shorter stays in its spot in the sky, and the moon to its sweet time up with the stars at night. Since it is winter, the game in the forest will become scarce, hiding and migrating for the cold months to come. With rare game, Natsumi has to hunt as much as she can now to last throughout most of the winter without blood.

She suddenly stopped. She could smell an unknown scent in the vicinity. Natsumi ran in the direction of the new scent, but she ran a little slower, just to be safe. As she ran, she suddenly realized that she was being followed. After several minutes, she stopped and turned around and was standing before a boy. The boy was about eighteen, and he had chocolate brown and dark brown -- almost black -- eyes. He wore baggy jeans that is a little bit shredded on the knees and a dark blue shirt.

He smiled at her, showing some fangs. "Hello," he said.

"Hi..." Natsumi got in a defensive stance. She looked over the boy, trying to spot any weapons on him, and then at what was around him to see any potential weapons he could use.

"Don't be alarmed." The boy put his hands up in surrender. "I just wanted to welcome you to your new life."

"Hn." She only slightly adjusted her posture. "Well, thank you." She suddenly became suspicious, and she stared skeptically. "How long have you been watching me?"

He shrugged. "A while." When he noticed Natsumi's questioning stare, and then he smirked and commented, "It must be pretty hard to resist nibbling that husband of yours -- with the fact that you rarely drink and then being so close to him."

Natsumi felt her cheeks flaring, and a soft growl was sounding in her throat.

"It also must be hard to satisfy him if you have super-human strength, hehe, very hard in--"

"SHUT UP!" Natsumi hissed. Her eyes had turned red and her fangs were showing. "Why the _hell_ are you here?!"

"Easy, easy. I didn't mean it like that! You see, I am a vampire too, but we both have one thing in common..." His voice turned into a growl as he said the last words. "_we were both changed by the same vampire_."

The kunoichi's growling ceased. She stood up straight, yet she was still ready for any unexpected move. "Who is that man, the one who changed us?"

"I don't know his name, but I do know what he looks like." The boy casually leaned back against a tree and stared at the sky starry sky. "I've been hunting him for a bit more then half a year. He made my life miserable by changing me. And then he changed you when you were clearly dead." He waited for Natsumi to join in the conversation, but since she remained silent he continued, eyes closed.

"That's another reason that I want to kill that man -- he can revive the dead by biting them and drinking even the slightlest amount of blood. I've had close encounters with him, but he always ended up getting away."

"I met him too," Natsumi said. "He looked rabid with some infection only vampires could get...maybe some ancient or new disease."

There was some silence between the two. The clouds pulled closer together, and then they began to send small snowflakes to the earth. A chilly wind blew past them, and Natsumi's hair flowed with the wind. When her scent hit the boy, his eyes snapped open. He jumped to the side and stared at the woman with disbelief.

"You are still human?!" he gasped. "How?!"

Natsumi frowned, and then stared up at the sky, snowflakes landing on her face. "I don't know really, but I am just as surprised as you are. Somehow I managed to be only part vampire..." She sighed, and the vapor from her breath became visible. "I don't know much about vampires to be honest."

"Oh..." The boy regained his composure, and then he smiled at her. "Well, my name is Vincent," he said.

"Natsumi."

"Hehe, I already knew that."

"Stalker..." She smirked at the boy's defensive facial expression. The woman looked up at the cloudy sky again, and then looked off past the trees where she had come from. "Well, nice to meet you Vincent. I have to head back now, even though I didn't catch much."

"Alright." He watched her walk away, and then notice her stop. "What is it?" he asked.

"If you're gonna be around the area, you better not harm any villager. Also, if you go by my house just to spy on me, my wolves will intervene unless you come to the door and knock asking to come in. They do not like vampires, my pack." She turned her head to give the startled boy a sly grin. "See ya."

Vincent replied after Natsumi, "I'll be outta the area to hunt. Don't worry, I don't kill humans." Once the woman disappeared with her speed, Vincent ran with his speed in the direction away from the village. _Better not mess with that lady. She looked pretty damn serious about her warnings._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi entered the Niikyo-Uchiha household from the back door. She stomped her feet on the rug, getting rid of the snow that had clung to her shoes, and then headed into the kitchen. "Hey guys," she said to her family as she walked in. Everyone was at the table, a bowl of soup in front of them.

Greetings were muttered or said with relief around the table. "How was hunting?" Mayume asked as she sat in her usual eating spot on the kitchen counter.

"Scarce," replied Natsumi. She grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and filled it half-way with some chicken soup. "It started to snow." She glanced at her twin, and Mayume seemed to have received the unasked question.

"I already have my jar of dirt," she said. Mayume, being an earthbender, loved to be able to have her element with her. Winter here in Konoha can be really snow filled. The record of how much snow covered the ground was a good two meters deep. With that much water (snow) covering the ground, Mayume felt so detached from the earth. So, as tradition, she always fills a jar with dirt before the snow to keep herself from going insane from all the ice.

"Alright." Natsumi began to eat her soup. Everyone else did the same, and it was silent at the table. Only the light clanging of spoons hitting the edge of the bowl could be heard besides the occasional slurp of someone inhaling a noodle. After several minutes, Yin had finished her bowl of soup, stood up, walked over to the sink, and put her dishes away.

"You're already done eating?" Natsumi asked her daughter.

"Yeah, I'm not that hungry," Yin replied. She turned around to face her mother, and then she noticed Natsumi's eyes. "Mom, your eyes are red, the irises."

Natsumi cocked and eyebrow. "Well, I'm not in 'vampire-mode'." After a moment of thought, she concluded, "It must be because of the lack of blood."

"Does that mean I have to go to the hospital and get several packs of blood?" Mayume asked, but it was more of an offer. Natsumi shook her head at the idea.

"No. If I drink human blood, then I may get addicted and then go and a killing spree to satisfy it." Natsumi, too, finished her bowl and put the dishes away. "I'll be upstairs if you guys need me." Everyone watched her leave the room, and then they resumed eating.

"Uh...Is it just me, or is Mom getting somewhat depressed?" Nhamo asked after some silence took place.

Yang nodded. "It does look like it," he said. "Maybe this is a bad time for her to think about the issues of being a vampire..."

"It could also be an effect from having not much bood to drink," Yin added in. Mayume nodded in agreement with her niece's idea. She glanced at Sasuke, who was silent and still eating his soup.

"You okay, Sasuke?" Mayume asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied without making eye contact. Mayume stared at the man for a minute, then shrugged it off and resumed conversation with the children.

* * *

Natsumi looked at herself in the mirror, specifically staring at her eyes. They have turned to a blood red now, after about two hours since she came home. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. _I'm probably going to have to stay home the whole time, just so I don't make any rash moves from thirst._She glanced into the mirror once again, and then saw that Sasuke was behind her.

"Hey," Sasuke said. He stared into the mirror with her, his face carried a hint of sadness. Natsumi could almost swear that it was a look of guilt. "Am I going to have to sleep in the other room tonight?" he asked. Every once in a while, Natsumi had sent, more of advised, him to sleep in the room next door so she wouldn't harm him. Looking at her red eyes, Sasuke could see the answer. "Don't worry about it Nat. I'll be fine sleeping in the other room; I won't be mad at you."

The woman nodded solemnly. "Yeah, you're better off in the other room," she said. She turned around in her chair and kissed her husband on the cheek. "Good night."

He smiled slightly and kissed her back. "Night." With that he left, closing the door quietly behind him, yet Natsumi could still hear it click shut and his steps going to the other bedroom. She got out of the chair and got dressed in a nightgown. Then she got into the large bed, curled up, and closed her eyes.

~Several Weeks Later~

Mayume, Yin, Nhamo, Hunter, and Yang were eating some lunch when Sasuke came in, some snow in his hair. Yin laughed at the sight, and then she helped him get the snow out of his hair that he missed when he entered the house. Mayume handed him a mug of hot chocolate while he sat down in a chair at the table.

"How was your mission?" Yang asked.

"It was fine," Sasuke answered. He took a sip of the hot chocolate. "Pretty easy, really."

Yin nodded. "I bet, for someone like you," she said with a hint of playfulness in her tone. Sasuke smirked, and she smiled at him. "Well, we were just having lunch."

"Where's Nat?" Sasuke asked. He had looked around the kitchen at least four times before asking that question. When he looked at the faces of everyone, they all looked rather worried. He felt his stomach tighten with nervousness. "What is it?"

"She locked herself in her room," Mayume said. "She left earlier to see if she could find anything to hunt. Even her wolves couldn't find any game; they left the area to another part in the Land of Fire to search for food." The woman looked into her mug of tea for a minute before continuing.

"Just about a few hours ago, she nearly bit Yin... We stopped her, of course, and when she came to...she felt horrible. She then left to her room and locked herself inside."

Yin stared at her plate of food. "We haven't heard anything from her since then, she wouldn't respond to any of us knocking or talking." She looked up and watched her father stand up and walk off to the stairs.

"Hm, maybe Dad can get through to her," Hunter said. "You know how they are." Everyone agreed and resumed eating.

* * *

Sasuke listened to the silence beyond the door of Natsumi's room. It didn't sound like she was even in there. He couldn't even hear her breathing, and his heart nearly stopped at the thought of her killing herself. While he waited for his heart to regain its usual pace, he heard a voice.

"I know you're out there Sasuke," Natsumi said. "Don't bother coming in, it's locked, and I'm not gonna open it." She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The woman had heard the man's footsteps and his breathing as well as his heartbeat. The sound of his pulse skipping a beat and restarting made her throat burn.

"Why not?" her husband asked from behind the wooden barrier. "I can easily kick this door down you know."

"I will most likely kill you, if you dare to enter."

"I know you won't Natsumi."

"Don't put so much faith in me, Sasuke." The man could her the pain in her voice. "I nearly killed our only daughter! What makes you think I can hold back against you?"

Natsumi heard him sigh, and then he answered in a softer tone: "Natsumi, you have great self-control, don't let one slip-up discourage you. Let me in." Half of her wanted to jump up and let him into her room, being perfectly fine and just talking this out, but there was another side that also wanted to let him inside, yet it wanted to lock the door behind them and then go after the blood that flowed in his veins. Natsumi shivered at the thought of killing her husband and just drinking the blood. She hated that side's thinking.

"I can't," she answered him after some silence. "I don't trust myself with you when I'm in this condition."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "All you need is blood right?" he asked. "Then you'll be stable for a while."

Natsumi immediately got his idea. "NO! I am NOT taking _any_blood from you," she growled. "It will hurt Sasuke, a lot. I don't want to put you through all that. Not to mention...that I might not stop until all the, no _your_, blood is gone." Her voice went from a harsh growl to a quiet whisper. "I don't want to kill you, Sasuke."

"You won't kill me." Sasuke tried the doorknob, and it was indeed locked. "Natsumi, you may not trust yourself, but _I_ trust you. Please, let me in and help you."

"I already told you, no."

"I always leave you when you need me most," he said. "I never help you when you need it, but you always helped me, you always saved me... Now it's my turn Natsumi. Let. Me. In."

Natsumi groaned, "Why are you so persistent?" Still, she got up from the bed and walked over to the door. She unlocked the door, held her breath and opened it. Sasuke was looking at her, smirking. "Well," she said while still holding her breath, "if you get really drained of blood or severely injured, it's your fault, but I will be depressed and _NEVER_ will listen to your suggestions of donating blood to me ever again. Got it?"

The man took a breath and nodded. Natsumi smirked -- there's the fear that she was looking for. She stepped aside and let Sasuke walk inside. "Are you sure that you want to do this Sasuke?" Natsumi asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said. When his wife looked at him, he stared back, showing her that he was sure. Natsumi bit her lip, and then nodded in agreement.

'May,' Natsumi thought-spoke. 'I need you to monitor my thoughts as well as Sasuke's. If he starts to fade, let me know. If I start to lose control, run up here and stop me.'

'You got it sis,' Mayume replied. They disconnected from the conversation, and Mayume tuned into the couple's thoughts. Both were very nervous, and they also wanted to get it over with. Sitting on the living room couch, Mayume crossed her fingers and wished both of them luck.

Sasuke sat on the bed, facing the door. Natsumi sat behind him and hugged him, resting her cheek on his back. "Sasuke, if you feel any bad pain and want me to stop, then just hit me and get away. May will come in to restrain me when that happens," she said.

"Alright," Sasuke said. Natsumi released her hug, and then he took off his shirt and stayed still while his wife rested her chin on his shoulder. He felt her kiss his neck, and he somewhat relaxed at the touch. When the Uchiha felt the light prick of the half-vampire's fangs, he tensed back up. He winced slightly when the fangs sank into his flesh, but he knew that Natsumi was trying to be as gentle as she could. Sasuke remained still while his wife began to drink his blood.

Natsumi's throat started to burn a bit more as she drank Sasuke's blood. Every time she drank, the burn slowly dimmed, but it was still there. The blood tasted so good...way better than animal blood. She was about to bite deeper, but she stopped herself. This is her husband, not a rabbit that she hunted and killed just for blood. With great effort, Natsumi slowed her intake of blood to a slow, soft suck. She felt Sasuke leaning back onto her -- he was passing out. Quickly, Natsumi stopped and looked at him.

His eyes were closed, and when she checked his pulse, he was still alive. She carefully licked the bite wound, and it healed. Natsumi reached for the large bandaid on the bed-side table and put it on the bitten area of the Uchiha's neck, just in case it opened. She slowly moved from under him, and then laid him gently down on the bed. After covering him with a blanket, she walked over to the desk where her mirror was and looked into it. Her eyes were an orange shade now, and she sighed. The woman looked over to her husband, and then at herself in the mirror. There was some blood on the corner of her mouth, and she licked it. Suddenly, she felt guilty. She couldn't take care of herself at that organization and got herself killed, and now she's taking the blood of someone she loves to keep herself...sane, and alive.

This might be what she'll end up doing every winter. Natsumi didn't want that, she didn't want to feel like she was helpless and needed to be fed like this. The woman put her feet on the chair and she sat there, hugging her knees and staring at Sasuke. Eventually, she fell asleep, satisfied from the feeding.

* * *

There you go ppl, you find out the stalking shadow's identity! Vincent the vampire! (lol, alliteration [never knew that until recently XD])

Hope you guys liked the chapter.

If you ask: Where the hell is Semira? Why was she in here in the first place? Then my answer is: She's not there yet, and she'll be here soon.

R&R plz! thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

_I'd like to, once again, thank the people that stick to this story. Thanks to Red-eyed Gal, Sakurasapprentice, and others for reviewing my story. The reviews really encourage me to write more. Eventually (soon I think) I won't be able to update this story or my other story as fast as I usually do 'cause of testing. [Evil testing :( ] Anywayz..._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

When Natsumi woke up a few hours later, she noticed that someone had put her in her bed. She sat up in bed and looked around -- Sasuke wasn't there. The woman figured that her husband has woken up a while ago, put her in bed, and went downstairs. Natsumi got out of bed and headed downstairs. Everyone was in the living room watching television. Yin looked over at her and smiled.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted. Yang, Nhamo, and Hunter looked at Natsumi and smiled as well.

"You look better," commented Hunter.

"Yeah," agreed Yang.

Nhamo nodded. He turned his head to look at Sasuke. Natsumi, too, looked at the Uchiha. He stared back, and a small smile came across his lips.

"So, whatcha guys watching?" Natsumi asked as she walked over to the couch.

"Watching a movie," Mayume replied.

Yin specifified, "Rush Hour Three."

"I see..." Natsumi sat down between Yang and Hunter, which is a spot right by Sasuke's feet. She looked at the TV. The movie was at the part where Carter and Lee were in the taxi trying to get away from the motorcyclists. Natsumi watched as Jackie Chan punched one of the cyclists while Chris Tucker does the same.

Just then a knock came at the door.

Everyone turned around and stared at the hallway that led to the front door. Natsumi got up and jogged to the door and opened it. There was an ANBU standing before her.

"Natsumi Uchiha," the man said.

The woman nodded. "Yes?"

"You are to meet the Lady Hokage right away." When he saw the kunoichi nod, he disappeared into the night.

Natsumi turned around, closed the door, and ran up the stairs. Within seven seconds she was in the living room in her usual attire in case of missions: a pair of slightly baggy black capris and a red V-neck shirt. Over that outfit was a green vest the represented the Jonin rank of ninja. Her headband was tied securely around her head. "Ill be back guys," she said. "The Hokage wishes to see me."

"Mission?" asked Yin.

"Probably, haven't gotten one in a while." She began to head for the door. "Catch you guys later."

Her sister and children said their good-byes. When Natsumi reached the door, she heard Sasuke call her name. When she turned around, he was right there. The man gave her a hug, and she put her arms around him as well.

"Be careful Nat," he said.

"I will," Natsumi assured her husband. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, grabbed her sweater, and walked out the front door. She then began to run to the Hokage's office, making sure she doesn't use her full strength and become a blur.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsunade was going through some paperwork as usual, massaging her temples at the headache they were causing. When the knock at her door, she sighed in relief at the short excuse to ignore her paperwork and told the person to come in. She stared intently at the door as it opened, and when she saw Natsumi, she smiled. "Ah, Natsumi. It's good that you're here," she said.

Natsumi bowed to the woman. "Good evening, Lady Hokage," the woman said humbly. She stood up straight and looked at the Hokage right in the eye. "You called for me ma'am?"

"Yes, I did." Tsunade looked through her stack of papers, and then she pulled out a folder stamped "TOP SECRET". She dropped it on top of her current pile.

"This," the Hokage said, "is that case you were assigned nearly two months ago. In that time, there was no news of the killer. But..." The woman's face frowned, and her brows came together. "There has been another attack."

Natsumi tensed at the notice. "So, it's the same man?" Natsumi asked.

"I'm sure of it. The same things were found at this scene: the dents and craters, the two pronged bite, victims drained of blood. This specific scene is worse than the previous ones." She held the folder out to the Niikyo-Uchiha. "It seems as if the man, or vampire as you say, has a grudge against you." Natsumi slowly took the file and stared at the cover. She opened it, and her eyes widened at the photos.

This murder scene was much worse than the other ones. These victims are children, and they were not just merely bitten...

They were injured in the most severe ways: limbs broken to where the bone splintered out from the flesh, disfigured bodies, covered in huge cuts and gashes, even chunks of flesh were missing.

Natsumi's hands began to shake in both anger and shock. She hoped that the children were already dead when their bodies were mutilated. She couldn't bear the thought of them _being alive and conscious _during this...this **cruel**, **horrible** torture. There was a message written in blood:

_To the half-blood who got away with my last meal,_

_Look at this scene -- take it all in. This is going to happen more and more often. Try to kill me, I'll kill five people at random. You can not kill me...I live for eternity. I will strike soon, and if you wish me to stop, then come quietly and give yourself up. The decision is yours._

There was no signature besides the blood splatter that looked at if he flicked the blood of the children off his hands.

Natsumi could feel the rage boiling within her. It took much self-control to keep herself from ripping the folder to shreds. Carefully, she handed the folder back to Tsunade, who took it with just as much caution. "What do you want me to do?" Natsumi said through clenched teeth.

"As this man put it, it is your decision," she replied. "I give you permission to go after him, but I recommend that you wait and think of a plan to take him down." The Fifth leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "For this type of mission, I would rather have it be a solo for you or an ANBU assignment, but if you have anyone in mind who can help you, please say so."

"I do have someone in mind." The woman looked up at the Hokage, her eyes a ruby color. "I'll go contact her immeadiately."

"Alright, dismissed."

* * *

Sorry, this one's short, but I want to give you all a taste of what is gonna take place. Review please. Much appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

Natsumi was running toward her house when she sensed the presence of someone nearby, and it was closing in. The woman stopped where she was and looked around. She noticed a pair of red eyes, and she tensed. She then realized out that the person was Vincent. "Hey," Natsumi said.

"Yo," Vicent replied in greeting.

"What is it?"

"I saw a strange person heading into your village. A woman." Vincent looked ahead while Natsumi considered the information he had given her.

"Hm...it may be a ninja from another village," she figured. Vincent shrugged, and they continued the rest of the way back to the Niikyo-Uchiha household. When they reached the house, Natsumi stopped just outside the garden gate. She looked at Vincent. "Are you coming inside?"

"Nah; I don't trust myself with humans that well yet."

"I could help you practice."

"Alright, some other time. See ya." Vincent waved and was gone in a flash. Natsumi walked through the white gate and walked to the front porch. She pulled out the house key, unlocked the door, and walked inside.

"I'm home," she said. She walked into the living room and saw that no one was there. "Guys?" The woman walked throughout the whole house -- no one. She tried to lisen for them, sniff them out, sense their chakra.....

Nothing.

"MAYUME!! YIN!! YANG!! NHAMO, HUNTER, SASUKE!!" Natsumi called.

Silence was the only reply. A knot formed in the woman's stomach. Could it be?

**Did that vampire find her family and abducted them?**

Natsumi ran around the house again, with her vampire speed this time. No one was there. She stood in the middle of the living room, shaking. _Where could they have gone? _she thought. _They wouldn't be outside for fun; at least Mayume wouldn't. Where are they?!_

She tried to thought-speak, but there was no reply. Her surroundings disappeared, and she cursed at herself. Genjutsu. How did she...? Right...she saw red eyes earlier. Then does that mean....Itachi? Suddenly, a man appeared before her. His red eyes were staring directly into her eyes.

Itachi Uchiha.

"What do you want with me?" Natsumi asked.

The man did not reply. Instead he vanished, and then Natsumi was watching her memories:

_Natsumi was standing in front of the vampire that changed her. The man was crouched, ready for battle. He ran toward her, and she cartwheeled to dodge._

_Why is Itachi showing me this? _Natsumi thought. She still watched the memory, and then something caught her eye. The vampire still had the bite wound she gave him on his hand. It should've healed a long time ago.

_She was now hiding in the trees, closing in on the villager. She glanced at the vampire._

The vampire had other wounds too. There were even scars all over him. _Is that why he needs blood? To heal himself?_Natsumi saw the memory vanish. The woman was still confused, and she wanted to get out of the genjutsu.

Itachi appeared in front of her once again, his katana at the ready. "Let's see how being a vampire helps your skills, Natsumi," he said. He sped over to her in a blur, but Natsumi saw the motion and blocked it with a kunai. She held her knife out while she reached behind her back to grab her fans, but Itachi was too fast. He got behind her and grabbed her wrist. He threw her down into the snow. Natsumi slammed her fists on the ground and caused ice spikes to jet out of the ground and make Itachi jump back around five meters.

Natsumi grabbed her fans from her belt and flipped to where she was standing up, facing Itachi. She flicked her wrists, opening her fans and positioning her arms to where they cross. "That's it?" Natsumi taunted. Suddenly, the world went from its natural colors to negative. "Crap."

"This is my world remember?" Itachi asked. He made three clones, and all four Itachis ran toward her.

The woman moved her fans, and a gust of fire flew out toward them. "Then why are we doing this in genjutsu? Why not fight for real?"

"Who says that as we are fighting, our real selves are not?"

"Hm...it is impossible."

"Really? People and things do have flaws you know. Everything always has a flaw."

Natsumi thought about that. "Are you actually helping me?"

The man's clones disappeared, and the real Itachi stared at her. "Now what makes you think that?" He did not let her answer, instead he vanished. The world went black, and Natsumi felt the ground vanish from beneath her, and she was on her back.

"Ugh..." Natsumi mumbled. She cracked her eyes open, and the night sky was clear. She slowly sat up, and then she saw Vincent.

"You finally wake up," the boy said.

"You didn't wake me?" Natsumi asked.

"I didn't know how." He then gave her a questioning stare. "Why the hell were you out here in the cold all knocked out for? You're warm blooded for heaven's sake."

The woman stood up slowly and replied, "I was trapped in an illusion. Damn Itachi."

"Who?"

"I'll tell you later. It's a long life story." A question popped in her head. "Hey Vincent, how did you become a vampire, and where are you from?" When the vampire looked at her, she reasoned, "You've been stalking me and know most of my background, so tell me yours."

After some thought, Vincent sighed, "Fine." He looked up at the sky as if the stars would help him tell his story. He began to tell his life.

"I used to live in New York, in the United States. I had both parents, and they were the best. One night, I was walking home from a friend's house when I heard a scream from an alley. I walked by it and glanced inside -- I saw a woman being thrown into a wall by a man.

"At first I disregarded it -- stuff like this happens a lot in New York city. I thought about it for a little bit, listening to the woman shriek 'Help!'. Then I decided to go help. Quickly, I grabbed a pipe and ran into the alley. I whacked the man on the back of the head with my weapon, but he did not fall unconscious as I hoped. Instead, the pipe bent and the man turned away from the woman to glare at me. I was creeped out by his looks.

"He had a pale face, dark, long black hair that covered most of his face, and blood-red eyes. His fangs were what made me scared...they looked about three centimeters long. He punched me in the gut and slammed me into a wall, and I blacked out." Vincent looked down at the ground like he was hanging it in shame at the defeat. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and continued.

"When I woke up, the man was gone, and the woman was lying on the ground dead. When I saw the blood, I craved for it, but I pulled myself away. I had noticed that my vision was sharper, and my speed was greater. I stopped running and looked at my shirt. My own blood was on it. I touched my neck, searching for the wound, but I didn't find it. Pulling up my jacket and zipping it up, I ran to my house.

"My parents freaked out when they saw the blood on my head. I told them I got into a fight and left into my room. I locked myself in my room, keeping the wall between me and my parents, whose pulsing blood was tempting. After several days, I let myself out into the world. Though my yearning for blood was strong, I resisted all of school. I thought I could take on anything, like I would never attack anyone....

"I found out that I was wrong." Vincent's voice grew a bit soft, and Natsumi took a step forward but she stopped herself. She waited for him to finish his story. Vincent took a deep breath and finished his story.

"I was hanging out with my best friend in the park one night. We were both staying away from the our houses since the place was having a block party, and we didn't want to get drunk and act foolish. He was climbing a tree and got this cut on his hand, and my instincts took over. I drained most of his blood, and when I realized that he was dying, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, ripped the sleeve off, and wrapped it around his hand. I picked him up and used my speed to get him to the hospital. I told the doctors that my friend bitten by a dog and went home while they took him to a room.

"I found out that he died later on, and I was in agony. I killed my best friend....and that was all because of that one vampire who changed you and me."

Natsumi walked over to the Vincent and stopped when she was only a meter away. "Well, that's some story," she commented. "Did you manage to locate the vampire, Vincent?"

"He's still around the village somewhere," Vincent replied. "And you can call me Vince for short if you'd like."

"Alright. I was going to call a friend of mine to help out with this problem."

"Who?"

Natsumi opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't utter a word. Her mouth closed, and she listened to the silence. Was there a faint knocking sound? Who would be at her house at this hour? The sun was starting to rise, and the sky started turning from dark bluish black to a purple. "Speak of the devil," Natsumi said. "I think that's Semira."

"Semira?" Vince asked.

"Yes, come on. You're going to meet her." Natsumi grabbed him by the wrist and jogged toward the house.

Vince was dragged behind, and he said, "But I don't trust myself with your family! What if I --"

"Don't worry! We have ways to restrain you." The woman then used her vampire speed to pull him to the Niikyo-Uchiha household.

* * *

Hope you like this chapter. You finally get background on Vincent, yay!

Semira's over at the house? What will she do when she hears that Natsumi is a vampire? What will she do to Vince?

Find out next time: Chapter 11. [I suck at titles so I settle for the numbers. xP]

R&R for this chapter. please? This one took a while 'cause of the Itachi thing; didn't know what to do with him.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey peoples. My brain is kinda cutting me off short on chapter inspirations, so don't nag at me if I update slower than I usually do. Thanks for the understanding._

_Now, this story is starting to get better, more action I mean. I have no clue how long this story will take, so don't ask. Hopefully it won't go over 20 chapters (which I doubt). Anyway, read, enjoy, review. Thanks._

_PS: I had my friend Semira write in her reaction in my pre-write. I can't think of the big vocab that she uses, lol. Semira, you're awesome buddy! :)_

_

* * *

_

Natsumi and Vincent had entered the house through the back door. They walked down the hallway into the living room. While Vince stayed in the corner, Natsumi walked farther into the living room. Mayume saw both of them, and said, "Semira's here."

"Hey Natsumi," a woman said. Sitting on the smaller couch was Semira, her black hair reaching past her shoulders. She smiled, revealing nice white teeth. She did not seem to notice Vince in the corner.

"Hey," replied Natsumi. "Has my sister told you my news already?"

"No, I just got here. What is your news?"

Natsumi hesitated before answering. "I...have been transformed into a vampire, Semira."

Semira's face was blank, smooth. Her pale skin seemed to look like marble at that moment. Despite her calm looking face, they all could see the surprise in them. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"Yes I'm sure." She watched her friend stand up and start pacing the room. "Er...Semira? What are you..."

Semira presed her forehead against one hand. "Oh, Jesus," she grumbled silently.

"Semira?"

Semira took in one long, frustrated breath, then exhaled it in one calming effluvium. Composure regained, she stepped wordlessly over to Natsumi.

"Let me see your teeth," she commanded.

Natsumi blinked, but then nodded and smiled as widely as if showing her teeth to a dentist. Semira stared blankly at the elongated eyeteeth for a moment, then sighed from between angrily clenched teeth.

Surprisingly, however, her voice was empathetic -- with only a trace of ire -- when she spoke. "Damn it, Natsumi. How the hell did this happen to you?"

Natsumi chewed on her lip slightly. "I was caught and interrogated by members of Falcon. They killed me, but I didn't die. I woke up later and I was...like this."

Semira listened intently. "Falcon? Isn't that Sasuke's organization?"

For the first time, she noticed Sasuke standing in the corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and half of her mouth twisted into a spitefully sardonic expression.

"Sasuke," she said, "this is the first time I've seen you in _years_. Have you finally come back to stay with your wife?"

Sasuke didn't respond or make any eye contact. He frowned grimly at the floor.

Semira continued, her voice taking on a somewhat cruel lilt. "So after deserting her for eight years, you let _this_ happen to her?"

"Semira!" exclaimed Natsumi, "stop it!"

Semira continued staring at the unresponsive Sasuke. "He's responsible, Natsumi. They were his men; their actions are his own." Her tone became darker as she addressed Sasuke in a near growl. "Funny, he hardly even seems contrite."

Natsumi, seeking a way to placate the situation, said, "Semira calm down, being a vampire isn't all that bad. It's actually kind of cool, being able to..."

"'Not that bad'?!" Semira snarled furiously. Something in those words had set her off. In a brief lapse of control, she seized Natsumi by both shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. Semira was more sloemn now, but her irate glower had not diminished. "Natsumi, you have _no idea_ what you're saying."

Natsumi stared back, unshaken. Semira's eyes had turned red, and there was more than a hint of depression in them. Semira scoffed disdainfully, then turned and strode quickly out the door.

After the sound of the slammed door dispersed, the room was silent. When Natsumi looked at Sasuke, he raised his eyes to meet hers. His face was pained, filled with guilt. "I'm sorry, Natsumi," he whispered.

"You have nothing to apologize for," she assured him.

"Semira was right."

His wife stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"It is my fault...I made the rules that they follow. They had to kill any captive unless they agreed to join." He looked away from her gaze, as if the stare was hurting him. He then whispered, "I made you become a vampire...I'm sorry..."

"Sasuke..." Before Natsumi could take a step toward her husband, he had already turned and headed upstairs. She stared after him, but she did not follow. Instead, she walked to the large couch and flopped onto it with a heavy sigh.

Mayume decided to go into the kitchen, knowing that her sister needed some time alone. Vincent left also, sensing the awkward atmosphere, to go search for the rogue vampire's location. The living room was silent, the children upstairs in their rooms asleep and not knowing what had happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Vincent was running through the forest when he was suddenly grabbed by the neck and slammed into a tree. When his vision focused, he was staring right at Semira's glowing red eyes. He was silent. Semira's eyes narrowed while she showed her fangs.

"What are you doing here, vampire?" the woman demanded. "And who are you?"

"I'm here to look for that rogue vampire. And the name is Vincent." He watched as Semira took the tone of his voice as the truth and dropped him. "You got a strong grip lady," he commented.

"Well I have to, since I kill vampires." She crossed her arms and observed him. "What do you know of the vampire?" she asked.

Vince stood up and dusted his jacket off. He replied, "He's one annoying bastard, that's what. That man enjoys people's pain; he does it for his own amusement."

"Hm, I see..."

"You should ask your friend Natsumi, she'd know about--" Vincent found himself pinned to the tree again. He stared at the vampress again.

"How do you know Natsumi?" she hissed.

"I met her already. She was changed by the man that I'm after, and we were discussing the subject. She was gonna call you, but you got here first."

Again Semira dropped him to the floor. Vince cursed under his breath and remained seated on the ground just in case. The woman became a bit more business-like. Her composure was better, and she had a lighter tone, almost slightly imitating a movie detective.

"Can you describe the vampire for me?" she questioned.

"Tall, not that well built but has lean muscles I guess. Dark brown or black hair that's a bit long for guy standards, almost to the chin. Though he may have cut it by now..." Vincent thought about the description he gave so far. "Oh, his eyes are usually red, but if he's well fed his eyes are really black."

Semira nodded, trying to picture the man's looks so far. "I guess that will do..." She took a deep breath. "Alright. I'm off. Don't hunt in this area, Vincent."

"Already got that warning." The boy stood up and gave a casual salute, "See ya." He then ran off into the forest again.

Semira stared after him, shook her head, and started back to the Niikyo-Uchiha household.

* * *

Semira stood at the door for a minute, gathering her thoughts before she knocked. The door opened after a minute and Natsumi was standing in the doorway. "Hey," Semira said.

"Hey," Natsumi replied. "Come in." She stepped aside and let her walk in. Semira walked over into the living room and sat down on the couch, and Natsumi sat on the hardwood floor across from her. "So, what's up?"

"I heard from a vampire named Vincent that you know about the vampire lurking around these parts. Is that true?"

The kunoichi nodded. "I am in charge of the victims murder cases." Semira noticed that Natsumi's fist clenched to where her knuckles became bone white like the skin wasn't there.

"What's wrong Nat?" the agent asked.

"He's after me..."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know, but I did stop him from having a meal out of a villager. He's clearly pissed though..." The woman's fist went tighter, and Semira could smell the blood on her friend's hand as her nails dug into her skin. "He killed children, Semira, and he wrote a message telling me that he wouldn't stop unless I gave myself up to him in their blood."

Semira growled, "You are not going to give yourself up to that bastard. Are you?"

"If that's the only way to stop him, then yes."

"Natsumi! Don't be absurd and fall for his trap!" She thinks for a moment before saying a reason. She remembered the bloody hand. "He's only after your blood. Once you give it to him he'll still kill people."

Natsumi looked up from the floor and stared at Semira with determined eyes. "I can fight him Semira, and I will win."

"Now don't get cocky girl. That isn't your thing."

"I'm not being cocky, just stating my goal. With your help, that man is as good as dead."

Semira's hand rested instinctively on her gun holster while she nodded. "Of course, we make a kick ass team," she said with a smirk. Then her thoughts pointed something out. "Natsumi, what if Sasuke tries to stop you from doing this? Or if he tires to come along?"

"I'll convince him to stay behind, or I can tie him up if I needed to."

"Sure."

"That vampire will attack soon..." Natsumi's voice was grim. "We got to find him before he does, otherwise it may be too late."

"Alright. Then you should get some sleep, you'll need it."

"Do you need a place to stay for the night? We have a guest room."

Semira smiled warmly at her friend. "Thank you, Natsumi. I guess I'll accept your offer." She stood up and followed the red haired kunoichi to a room down the hallway and to the right. Semira thanked Natsumi once again before entering the room. She took of her jacket, her shoes, and her belt with her gun. After setting the gun in a close, concealed spot, Semira got into bed and under the covers. She then closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsunade was finishing signing a document when a knock came at the door. "Come in," she said. The door opened and Natsumi came in. "Hm, what brings you here this morning?"

"I came to notify you that I am taking the vampire's offer to give myself up for the sake of the people of this village and others," Natsumi said.

The Fifth stared at Natsumi with disbelief. "Are you sure, Natsumi? You narrowly escaped death once, well sort of more than that but anyway, do you really want to give it up for this?"

The kunoichi nodded. "This is to protect my fellow villagers and friends. It will be worth it, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade was confused by that answer. She knew that the villagers had forgotten the Niikyo clan, and the few who did shunned Natsumi and Mayume for their differences. Later on, though, they got used to them and welcomed them back as the Niikyo sisters. Still a few disliked them, but Natsumi and her twin, Mayume, were willing to risk their lives for the village. Just like Naruto... Tsunade quietly chuckled at the analogy. She then got out of her thoughts and answered the ninja before her.

"Very well, Natsumi. Go do what you deem necessary, and please, take this mission as an ANBU. Call for backup if needed, alright?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm going to catch the vampire tonight, and he will die." Natsumi bowed in thanks and then left the Hokage's office.

_I hope that she knows what she's doing..._The Fifth went back to her papers, stamping or signing her approval absent-minded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi just finished tying her hair up when Sasuke came into her room. She turned around, and Sasuke looked over her black armored ANBU uniform. He stared at her face for a minute, then he asked, "What the mission?"

"I'd love to tell you, but it's an ANBU mission and those are top secret," Natsumi answered. She put on her mask and walked over to the doorway where he was standing. The man didn't move. "Excuse me, Sasuke, I need to get going."

"Not until you tell me."

"I told you, I can't." She was glad that her mask was on, otherwise her husband would see her frown and worried look. She was also thankful that she could disguise her voice to sound level. "I'm sorry honey, but I have to go now." When she saw that he wouldn't move from his spot, she turned around and ran to the balcony. The ANBU opened the door, ran and leaped off the balcony and into a tree. She took one last look back and left.

Sasuke watched his wife go and sighed in slight frustration. He decided that it would be a bad idea to follow her right now. He looked at the clock, and the time was displayed as 9:55 P.M. The man went out of the bedroom and down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Mayume was cooking something in a pot when he walked in.

"Hey Sasuke," Mayume greeted. She tapped the wooden spoon on the side of pot and set it on a paper towel. She turned to face him. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Sasuke answered. He looked around. "Hey, wasn't Semira here earlier?"

Mayume nodded. "She left a few minutes ago. She said that it was business."

_Business? Mission?_Sasuke tried to put the ideas together. Then the idea clicked in his head. "They're out to catch that vampire," he stated out loud.

"Guess so." Mayume went back to her cooking.

"I should probably..."

"Oh no you don't Sasuke!" Mayume grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "It's their business, let them handle it. If they call for backup, then we go. Got it?"

The man sighed in annoyance. "Fine." He then leaned back against the kitchen counter amd was quiet. Yang, Nhamo and Hunter came in a few minutes later and asked their father if he could train with them. Sasuke accepted the offer and got ready to go outside. He put on his jacket and shoes and followed his sons out the door into the snow.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Semira and Natsumi met far from the village where Natsumi had encountered the vampire. Semira looked at the ANBU agent, who nodded. The ninja took off her glove and a kunai. She then cut her finger, letting five drops of her blood drip from her finger onto the ground. She healed her cut and put her glove back on, and then the two women waited.

Five minutes passed when the rogue vampire appeared before them. He looked at the ANBU agent and smirked, but when he saw Semira, he frowned.

"Are you giving yourself up?" the vampire addressed Natsumi.

The agent nodded. "Basically."

"Basically?"

"If you swear that you will leave and not harm anymore people in this land, then I will give myself up. If you break that promise..." The agent nodded over to Semira. "She'll have to place you under arrest."

The man nodded slowly. "I see...in that case I do swear that if you come along with me, I will not harm anyone."

"Good. Now, why do you want me in the first place?" The ANBU watched the vampire before her chuckle.

"Well, it's been so long since there has been someone who is bitten by a vampire such as me and lived to be only part vampire and have a majority of human still in them." He shifted his weight onto another foot nonchalantly. "I'm a rather old vampire, and therefore my power is somewhat failing me. I have to keep drinking in order to live, heal, survive.

"So, that's where you come in, dear." A smile played upon his lips while the ANBU tensed and Semira placed her hand on her holster. "You are the one who can cure me."

"How so?"

"If I drink your blood, I will be restored my full strength and power. Not only will I be healed, but you would be a full vampire." He listened to the woman's growl, chuckling darkly. "Don't worry, you'll get some benefits from it. First of all, before I turn you, I'd like to have children who can continue the bloodline."

Semira snarled, "Like hell you won't!"

"Now now, this is part of the deal of giving herself up...Agent Semira Snowe."

The Hellsing agent tensed at the name. She did not reply to it.

"I know that is your name and title," the vampire said. "I've researched some files on Hellsing agents for the past hundred years. As I was saying, if you interfere with this, then you are backing out of the deal and I will kill both of you and the entire village."

Semira cursed under her breath and glanced at Natsumi. Her mask hid her face really well, and so the Hellsing agent couldn't tell what her facial expression was. Still, she figured that her friend must be shocked or scared. Quickly she remembered the thought-speaking technique that the Niikyo had taught her and used it for the private conversation. 'Natsumi, do you still want to go through with this?' she asked.

'Yes. It's still to help the village.' Natsumi was on a one-track mind right now, and Semira didn't like it at all.

'Think Nat, do you really want to give yourself to this bastard and be a full vampire the rest of your life which is forever? Do you want to bear his children? They might kill you while you're still human, but then again the man before you would bring you back as a vampire.'

'Semira, I have to do this.'

'You're marriedfor crying out loud! What is Sasuke going to think of this?! How will I explain this to him, if I live through this?'

'You'll live and find a way through this. Sasuke knows the shinobi way. He also knows that I'm doing this for him and our family.' Natsumi started to sound unsure, but then she recovered and was thoght-speaking with a firm voice. 'I am going to do this.'

_I guess there is no changing her mind..._Semira gave in reluctantly. 'Very well. If you get far from here, do as we planned okay? Don't give in that easily. Try to kill the demon will you?'

'Of course Semira.' The ANBU agent began to walk toward the vampire. Semira lingered back, watching anxiously.

The ancient vampire grinned. "Excellent..." As soon as the ninja was standing only half a meter away, he ordered, "Take off that mask my dear."

Slowly, the ANBU reached up and removed the mask. The woman stared up at the man with her golden eyes. She stiffened when the vampire stroked the side of her face gently with his cold hand. The hand went up to her forehead protector and back down to the base of her neck.

"You are such a beautiful one," the vampire commented. "And you're blood is so irresistible..." He took off Natsumi's glove and inspected her hand. When he saw the diamond ring on her ring finger, he realized that he was examining her left hand. The man smirked. "You were married, my dear? Did you kill him while being in this state, and you feel so horrible about it and are coming to me?"

Natsumi remained silent. If she mentioned that Sasuke was alive and that they had a family he may go after them. When she saw that the man was indeed waiting for an answer she said, "Yes..."

"Well then, shall we leave this village and its horrible memories?"

The woman nodded slowly.

Semira watched all of this unfold, feeling useless. If she did something, the vampire would kill Natsumi and the village, and if she didn't, she'd never see her friend again unless Hellsing had to hunt her down. _Damn it all! _she thought. _This is becoming too much! All of this is hurting Natsumi and I know it! Time for some action!_Before Semira could pull out her gun, a kunai whizzed by and headed to the evil vampire and kunoichi. Natsumi and the vampire jumped back while the kunai hit the round that was between them. The assailant landed at the edge of the clearing.

It was Sasuke.

"Stay away from her, vampire," Sasuke ordered, his katana out with his Chidori emanating from the metal. At first the vampire was confused, but then the thought clicked in his head. He glared at Natsumi.

"You lied to me!" he accused. Then he began to laugh darkly. "So you were putting an act to save your beloved and your villagers. Well, I can arrange it to where you were telling the truth." The man vanished and reappeared to slam Sasuke into a tree.

Natsumi's eyes widened. "NO!" she shouted. She ran to the fight, kunai ready. The woman jumped in front of the vampire, blocking him from Sasuke. "Stay back!" Her eyes glowed a hot red.

"Excellent, you have activated your vampire self. This will only make it easier." The ancient vampire swung his arm in a blur and struck Natsumi, sending her flying across the clearing and breaking a tree in half. The vampire laughed at the display of the effect of his strike. "Sorry dear, didn't mean to hit so hard."

"Natsumi!" Sasuke called. He turned to the ancient and stabbed him with the chidori infused katana.

"Ouch...that still hurts." The man took a step back, letting the katana slip out of him. The wound didn't really bleed as much as it was supposed to. "Now I have to heal this, and you will help with that boy!" Again the vampire punched the Uchiha, who flew back several meters and dropping his katana. The vampire picked up the weapon and began to head toward the Uchiha.

Natsumi recovered from her collision with the tree and saw the vampire approaching Sasuke. "Stay away from him!" She leaped into the air took the form of a wolf. This wolf was thirteen meters long and five meters tall, and its fur was dark red. The wolf sprinted over to the vampire, who had the katana raised and ready to kill the man sitting there beneath him. The vampire noticed the large wolf running toward them, so he ran from the Uchiha and headed to the wolf head on, katana out like a jousting stick.

At the last second, Natsumi launched herself into the air. The vampire stopped and looked up, calculating the time and spot where she would land. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the vampire dropped the katana due to a gunshot to his hand. "What the..." He then remembered that the Hellsing agent was still there. He cursed under his breath. Another wound to heal. He couldn't wait to get Natsumi's blood -- forget the bloodline, he could make another later with another woman. He needed the blood now, and he needed to kill Semira.

Forgetting the wolf, the vampire headed to the Hellsing agent. Semira fired three more bullets. Only one grazed the man's cheek. The vampire stopped fast before her and kicked her in the gut, and she fell back. She recovered and sweep-kicked the man, and he fell onto his back. With one foot Semira pinned him down, and she held the gun to his forehead.

"You make one move and I'll bklow your brains out," Semira hissed.

"Why not kill me now?" the vampire asked.

"You're not really mine to kill." Semira looked up and saw the wolf standing three meters before her. "He's all yours." The wolf placed a large paw on the vampire's chest and bared her fangs at him.

The vampire grinned. "I wouldn't kill me so fast. There's someone else you have to fight." The sound of a grunt from the far side of the clearing made the red wolf look up.

Sasuke was trapped in a headlock by Vincent.

"Vincent!" the wolf barked. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Natsumi saw that the young vampire's eyes were a blank red. Instantly she looked down at the vampire and snarled, "What did you do to him?!"

The vampire replied cooly, "He was following me, and I saw that he knew a lot about you so I decided to put him to my use." The large paw on his chest pressed harder, cracking a rib. "Take it easy, If you kill me Vincent there will kill your hubby."

Natsumi leaned some more weight on the vampire, cracking another rib. "Release Vince from your control, now."

"I'd love to, but I can't. If I do so then you'd kill me, and I'd rather not die."

'Semira, go help Sasuke out. Snap Vince out of it,' Natsumi thought-spoke.

Semira nodded and ran over to the two men. Vincent saw Semira coming and held a kunai to Sasuke's throat. Semira froze. Quickly, she pulled out her gun and fired at the young vampire's arm. Vincent yelled in pain and pulled his arm away from the Uchiha, though his still cut the hostage's throat a bit. Sasuke fell forward and grabbed his katana and pinned Vincent to the tree by stabbing him in the shoulder. Vince roared in rage, but then passed out, he was free of the ancient's control.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" Semira asked while eying the man's throat. It didn't look deep, but still...

"I'm fine..." Sasuke looked over at the wolf, who was staring at them.

Natsumi could smell Sasuke's blood, and it was tempting her. She got a hold of herself and focused on the vampire. "Now I can kill you," she said.

"You have no idea what trouble you're in now. There will be vampires after you when I die!"

The wolf disregarded the warning and dug her claws into his heart. The vampire howled in pain, and then he turned into dust. Natsumi stepped off the ash pile and turned to her friends. She became a human and fell to her knees. Semira was next to her in a second.

"You okay Nat?" she asked.

Natsumi nodded. "Just need to stay here for a minute to not attack Sasuke." Semira nodded in understanding.

"I'll go bandage it up for him and you." She dashed over to Sasuke again and quickly bandaged the throat. After several minutes they all got together (Natsumi and Semira took Vincent off the tree) and they all headed back to Niikyo-Uchiha household, thankful that the battle was over.

* * *

Yay! End of chapter 11! It was long, I know. Hope you guys liked it. There is only one chapter left for this story I believe. Thank you for reading this story. Woo! XD

Please review! thanks.


	12. Chapter 12

_Final chapter! Thanks ppl for your reviews. Enjoy!_

_~Natsumi_

_

* * *

_

It was morning when the Niikyo-Uchiha household was awake and rather noisy. There were several arguments from the teenagers while Semira and Natsumi were catching up with old times. Mayume was trying to get Vincent and Sasuke to talk, and she accomplished that when they told her to be quiet. Natsumi lightly smacked her husband on the top of the head for being so rude to his sister-in-law, and Semira smacked Vincent upside the head for the same reason of rudeness. Everyone laughed at that and resumed eating their brunch.

"Well, I have to go back to headquarters and report to Integra," Semira said as she put her dishes in the sink. "Thank you all for letting me stay here the past few days."

"You're welcome," Natsumi said. "Integra really needs to give you a vacation Semira."

The woman scoffed. "Well, the undead never really sleep, so she tends to keep us there a lot. If we do get vacations, it'd be for one day tops since vampires love to spoil our fun. Still," the Hellsing agent grinned, "I enjoy shooting those blood-sucking bastards anyway."

"Alright. Tell Integra and Alucard I say hello."

"Sure thing." Semira waved goodbye to everyone and headed out the door. When the door was shut and several moments of silence passed, the kitchen began to sound with conversation.

"I'm gonna miss Semira," Yin said. "She is a really good gunsman, and I wanted her to teach me how to use them."

Natsumi smiled. "Maybe she can visit sometime and teach you then."

"Did she teach you how to use one Mom?" Yang asked.

"Well, I did learn a bit of how to use a handgun, but still. I cannot teach you guys, for I don't own a gun." She laughed when the teens whined and drank some of her hot chocolate. "I do hope that there will never be a time when I have to use a gun in this house, but it may happen sometime."

Mayume nodded in agreement as did Sasuke. "But we can still kick ass with our jutsus and abilities," Mayume said.

"So true," Nhamo said with a laugh.

Sasuke glanced at Natsumi, and she glanced back at him. The man smirked and resumed eating. Natsumi made a confused face, but continued eating anyway. She then realized the bandages around his neck. "Hey, Sasuke, how's your neck?"

"It's fine," he replied.

"Maybe you should lick it to heal it better," mumbled Yang. "Ow!" Half a biscuit had hit the boy in the side of the head. When he glanced over at the source, Yin was munching contently on a piece of bacon.

Both Sasuke and Natsumi blushed slightly, but Natsumi was definitely redder than her husband. Mayume giggled, and so did the children. The subject was left alone and the table was quiet. Vincent left them to go back home to see his family. The Uchiha family said their goodbyes and good lucks as he left the house. Then the family decided to go out and train. Mayume decided to stay home though, and everyone understood why. So the Uchiha family got into some warm clothes and headed outside.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Uchiha family had just finished their true ninja training, and now Natsumi is training them with their shape-shifting. Natsumi turned into a white wolf, and Yin followed her mother in transformation. Yang, Nhamo and Hunter turned into light grey wolves and were ready to play, tails wagging. Nhamo pounced on Yang, and they rolled around in the snow, nipping at each other. Yin took on Hunter, chasing him around the snow-covered field. Natsumi watched her children have fun, her tail wagging. She heard a sigh and turned around to see Sasuke.

"Wanna come play?" Natsumi asked.

"You know I can't transform," the man said.

"I can fix that." The wolf trotted over to the man and began to mumble something like a spell. Then the she-wolf pawed Sasuke, and he was turned into a wolf with raven black fur.

Sasuke looked at himself. "Wow," he said.

"Now you can play and talk like us," Natsumi said. "You are so going to lose with that fur." The she-wolf crouched down, her tail up and wagging to signal that she wanted to play.

"I make up for that with my quickness." The wolf pounced on the white she-wolf, and the two rolled in the snow, laughing. Eventually, after a bunch of chasing and tackling into the soft, powdery whiteness, Sasuke managed to pin Natsumi down. "Ha! I win!" The wolf gave the she-wolf a smirk that resembled his own human one.

"Yes yes you win." Natsumi lifted her head and licked the dark furred wolf's chin. When the Uchiha froze she chuckled. He looked down at her, staring into her golden eyes. After a minute of that Sasuke got off of Natsumi. The she-wolf sat up beside him. Together, the two wolves watched the four teenage wolves who were theirs play around in the snow. Natsumi leaned against her husband. "It all feels so peaceful now..."

"Yeah..." Sasuke stared at the hyper wolves that were about 100 meters away. "They've become great kids haven't they?"

Natsumi nodded. "That's for sure."

"I'm still surprised that you went through the first two without me."

"Well I didn't know what you would've done if you found out," Natsumi said defensively. "You were pretty mad when they were inside me. And I did try to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."

"And you went to the wolves for the next six months. Then you came back with twins."

Natsumi whined softly. "And I told you a hundred times that I'm sorry." Sasuke rested his chin on the she-wolf's head.

"I know, and I accept it. I'm sorry I brought it up like that." He licked her cheek. Natsumi was staring at the children again, and Sasuke watched her quietly. After a few minutes he asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Well..." the she-wolf said. "when I look at these four, I already know that they're all grown up, and I miss them being small and in need of care." She glanced at Sasuke. "I also happen to always notice that we only have one daughter. Basically...I think I kind of want another baby..."

The raven black wolf chuckled, and then he nibbled Natsumi's ear. "You know, I was thinking the same thing." The two wolves stared into each other's eyes, totally forgetting what was going on around them. Suddenly, both wolves were tackled by four light colored wolves.

"Com'on guys!" Yin said. "It's starting to get really cold. We think it's gonna storm." The teenagers got off their parents and started to run off into the flurry of snow. "Last one home is a popsicle! Literally!"

Sasuke and Natsumi glanced at the spot where the children disappeared, then they came to their senses and ran after them into the beginning of the snowstorm. Both wolves kept in sight of each other, making sure that the other was safe. When they saw the faint lights of the Niikyo-Uchiha household, they ran full speed into the doggy-door that was on the back door of the house. The storm went on while the house was warm and cozy inside, music faintly escaping the walls of the home and fading away into the wild wind of the storm.

* * *

That's it everyone! I hope that you guys liked it a lot! Even if you liked it a little then that makes me happy. Please review! Thanks a ton to all those who stuck to my story!


End file.
